Lunar Eclipse
by CyndarDragon
Summary: Nemo was a werewolf with nearly indestructible powers...and she was somehow transported into Assassin's Creed. Now trapped within Altair's world, the assassin has no choice but to be stuck with a wolf constantly on his heels as he ventures out on the quest to redeem himself while discovering more about this strange canine who gives her loyalty to him. A/N Lots of action
1. A 'Friendly' Meeting

**I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON HEADACHE AN MISPLACEMENT! I've just had serious Writer's Block since. I know, it sucks so badly because it's so LONG TERM! I'm surprised I'm not insane XD okay, well maybe just a little…**

**I don't own Assassins Creed, we just got it for Christmas so please don't sue!**

**Also, Nemo is NOT named after the fish! Nemo means 'no name' in Latin (right?) which will make sense later in the story…and it has nothing to do with the fish or the movie!**

* * *

Lacuna looked up to the bright moon. She was standing on all fours on a large slab of rock overlooking the valley. She rose her head to the moon and howled like the wolf she is. The gentle breeze ruffled her thick, gray-and-white fur. She was no ordinary wolf. It's not like it's every day do you find a six-foot tall, twelve-foot long wolf with paws the size of dinner plates and a head larger than a horse's.

She ended her howl and brought her head back down. Her lungs sucked in a large breath from the cool winter air. She'd be back to 'normal' whenever she wanted to be, but she doesn't want to be human again. She dreams of running with other wolves through the wilderness, hunting deer and rabbits, catching salmon and running freely. She could do that at any time if she really wanted to, but she has responsibilities of her own. A brother to fend for, neighborhood dogs to take care of. Her brother and good-for-nothing parents knew she was a werewolf, but she could only _truly_ trust her brother. Besides, he provided her with not only companionship and affection, but also food, a roof, a bed, education…any else a fourteen-year-old girl would usually want.

However, she would never tell them of her desires to be a _true_ wolf, not a werewolf. Breaking her brother's heart is the last thing she wants to do.

She trotted back to her house in suburbia. She came around the back, nudging open the door to the walk-out basement. Her long tail grasped around the knob and closed it quickly as she made her way over to her brother's bed.

She glanced at his digital clock; 3:32 a.m. School wasn't for another four and a half hours.

With a slight puppy-like whimper, she trotted over to the basement's bathroom and closed the door. She let out a small shriek from the pain of her body crumbling in on itself as she transformed into a human. Gasping for air, she panted and felt her entire body sweating rivers from the brief transformation. Once she had enough strength, she grasped onto the countertop and heaved herself up. She wiped the spit from her mouth with her now-human hand, looking at herself in the mirror. Her slit pupils weren't fully dilated into human-like pupils. Her yellow irises, however, did manage to turn back into their piercing blue color.

She grabbed her clothes and put them on. Her shirt was black, long-sleeved, tight-fitting but comfortable with a white vine-like design on the sides and neck parts. She also wore grayish-colored cargo pants and black, motorcycle-like boots that she tied tightly around her pant leg's bottoms. A Pandora bracelet was on her left hand as well as black dog collar on her neck with three tags, one being a wolf, another a dragon, and a full moon with indentations for craters.

She brushed through her long, blonde (not dirty blonde, not strawberry blonde, _blonde_ blonde like semi-discolored snow) hair and looked at her skinny body in the mirror. Despite how thin she was, her legs, arms, back muscles, and stomach-area were extremely strong thanks to the whole 'being a werewolf' thing. While she didn't have to worry about anyone else seeing anything 'doglike' on her outside, she did have to worry about them catching sight of her canine teeth which could easily pass for vampire teeth.

"Lacuna? Is that you?" Her brother called.

"Yeah, I'm just back from being outside."

"Outside? Come on, man. You know you should only do that kind of stuff on non-school nights."

"I'm a werewolf, I want to sleep all day and run all night."

"Still though, Lacuna…." His voice was slightly exasperated.

Lacuna came out from the bathroom and turned off the light. Her eyes adjusted quickly; she had better night vision, anyways.

"Look, Lacuna, I _know_ that doing regular human stuff if difficult for you, but you've got three Cs minuses, two Ds, and one F…and you're in eighth grade. It's because you're sleeping in class."

"Look, I promised not to get transferred again." She said as she sat down on his bed.

"Lacuna, you also promised me that you would get a _minimum_ of all Cs. You're below your own minimum, you've _gotta_ get your grades up, you know?"

"Can you please just bare with me? I'm a werewolf, I want to run out there in the wild with you on my back, _and_ I have dyslexia. What do you think you can do?"

"I'm here to help. Just say what you're having trouble with, and I'll help."

"You can't help with _everything_ you know."

"I know, but I'm a senior in high school, I should be able to help you with most school-related issues. By the way, did you paint your nails?"

"No. I promise I won't grow claws today." Markoh was always obessive with her painting her nails. It was a way for them to know if she was unintentionally transforming into a worlf, for the paint would then crack. It all started when she was at school and a boy provoked her and she was hairline-thin to transforming. That was when Markoh transferred her.

"Oh yeah, famous last words. Go paint your nails." He ordered in a kind, quiet voice.

"Humpf. Fine. But after this, I'm gonna play Assassins Creed before school starts."

"Oh god, do you have to?"

"Yes." She said with a wry smile on her face as she walked into the bathroom.

After that, Lacuna popped in the Assassins Creed disk into their ps3. The light from the flat screen TV lit up the entire basement bedroom. She made sure that the volume was down on low to not wake up their 'oh-so-good' parents.

"I just love Altair."

"Yeah, but you can move better than him as a wolf." Her brother said as he sat upright to watch the screen. "He can't jump thirty feet in the air."

"That'd be pretty cool if he could, though. He'd be like Superman." Lacuna joked. Markoh just playfully punched her lightly on the right shoulder. "Hey, where's my bag?" She asked as she looked around the room.

"Your wolf one?"

"Yeah."

"Right here." He tossed her a preschooler's backpack that was in the shape of a wolf. Inside it had her Iphone Touchpad, what seemed to be thirty years worth of hair dye and highlights, and a _ton_ of nail polish along with several mangas and Cassandra Clare's _Mortal Instruments_ series. She also had a practically endless supply of pencils, paper, and erasers.

"You know one thing that I wish for?" Her brother said. "You're a werewolf, so I wish that I was a vampire. And I don't mean the "Dracula" or _Twilight_ kind, I mean just a…vampire."

"Heh heh, not very specific but good luck with that!"

"You're so lucky. I wish so badly that I could turn into something else like you."

"Don't say that."

"Why? Isn't it fun?"

"It's fun, but having humans around while going through extreme protein withdrawals without any other meat around is a bad situation." Lacuna joked, making both of them chuckle. "But what I really want is to be in Alaska with you. We've both agreed that our parents don't do _anything_ for us, why can't I just run away with you?"

"Because, Lacuna," He said with a heavy sigh, "There's many things in the way."

"It's not like they'd send out a search party. They won't find us in Alaska. They can't find us in Canada or Siberia, Finland, Lapland, or-"

"Lacuna, you don't understand. _You_ want to go to those places. I want to go to…well…other places. I have to go to college."

"I know, but…" Lacuna was about to protest but Markoh was giving her a stern look. Her jaw set tightly and she turned back to the screen.

"I'll be back in a moment. I need to get some water." Markoh said as he strolled into the bathroom.

Lacuna clicked on the 'CONTINUE' on the title screen and sighed. "I just wish…that I could get away from here with Markoh…" She said almost inaudibly. Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit up the small basement window. She instantly looked up at it as an earsplitting roll of thunder rattled the whole house. "Huh? That's weird…the sky was clear when I was out there and I didn't smell any rain. Or snow." She cursorily shrugged it off and looked at the screen, only to see that the loading screen was up but didn't have Altair in it. She cocked her head like a dog and sighed as the word 'glitch' came into her mind followed by 'stupid disk.'

She stood up to press the off button on the PS3 when another brief flare of lightning lit the room and another roll of thunder rumbled throughout the whole house. As her doglike hand touched the gaming platform, she felt a shockwave of pain and heat throughout her entire body. Without any time to react, she felt herself get dizzy and fall.

* * *

At first, she felt like she was floating. All what she could see was a wall of blackness. _I must be dreaming,_ she thought to herself, but she knew well enough that all of her dreams were about running as a wolf or with wolves and included some aspect of wilderness and/or her brother. This dream was nothingness, but the feeling of floating was serene and peaceful.

Something eventually aroused her; perhaps from the noise she was hearing or just out of habit. She was confused when she saw clear blue sky and some type of figure next to her. At first, she thought that it was just a stone. Then it struck her.

_Oh crap, I slept-walked outside! I must be in the playground or the forest! Oh god, I'm hope I'm not at the school's playground! Wait…school…_"Oh shit, I'm late for school!" She shot bolt upright, only to realize that he stone was in fact a tombstone. The corner of her mouth twitched as she said, "I walked into the town's cemetery…at night…sleep walking…" It wouldn't be the first time she's woken up in a cemetery, but regardless of that, it still freaked her out. She was thankful that she was a werewolf and not a necromancer otherwise she might be like Chloe Saunders from _The Summoning_ and accidentally raise the dead in her sleep. That's even worse than waking up in a cemetery.

She stood up and looked around only to realize that it wasn't her town's cemetery. The foliage was too scrubby and the ground was too dry, also not to mention the fact that the buildings looked different. In both color and design.

"Heh, I must still be dreaming. Well…mine as well have fun." She started trotting to what she guessed was the entrance, then felt a small amount of weight on her left shoulder. She quickly realized that it was her wolf backpack. "Cool dream. I even have my stuff. Though…I thought that I was playing Assassins Creed? Eh, I must have fallen asleep on Markoh." She walked through the iron gates and saw crowds people walking ahead not too far away. The majority of them wore robes and colored clothing much unlike her own. "Awesome, just like Assassins Creed. I must be in Jerusalem or Damascus or something." She walked into the crowd, immediately noticing the odd stares she was getting from people.

Of course, it was just a dream, right? She could do what she wants and not have to worry about what will happen to her. So she just smiled back at them.

As she passed a gate where guards patrolling to get to the rest of the city, one of them called out at her, "Hey, you!"

Lacuna turned around, unaware that she had been slightly startled which caused her eyes to turn yellowish again. "May I help you?"

"You…you are a woman?"

Lacuna blinked. "Um…duh I'm a woman."

The guard just looked at a similar-looking man to his right.

"How did you get in there? We would have remembered someone dressed like you coming in through the gates."

"Wow, this is an awesome dream. Real conversations." She said, smiling warmly. "Sorry boys, but I'm not even quite sure myself. It's alright, I won't pester you anymore." Lacuna wasn't sure if she _was_ pestering anyone, but she was curious to see if they would act nice to her if she acted nice to them.

"Boys? We are not boys! We are full-grown men!" He yelled in his thick Arabian accent, both drawing out their swords.

Lacuna took a step back. "Whoa, hey, I didn't mean to offend you."

"You are a woman! Know your place! You should get thrown into jail just for dressing like that!"

"Alright, alright. I'll go now…weirdoes." She turned around, only to see a flash of steel coming right at her face. Her quick reflexes allowed her to dodge it easily. "Holy shit! What the hell was that for?"

She quickly found herself dodging a sword from one of the guards.

"HOLY HELL!" Lacuna screeched and whipped around to run away. She sprinted away as fast as her legs would carry her, quickly realizing that it felt real. _Too_ real.

She started to leap long bounds until she got into thick crowds. "Outta my way, outta my way, MOVE!" Lacuna started ramming into people, clouting and knocking them over by accident in an attempt to make a path for herself.

"Get her! Stop that girl!"

Lacuna started barking at them as she began to swerve around people low to the ground. She stood up once the crowd started to become less dense…only to plow right into a man. She felt the wind knocked out of her and heard a strident 'oof' as she fell onto the ground, the man dressed in white robes underneath her. It took her a few moments to realize what had happened.

"Over there! Stop running!"

"Awah!" Lacuna yelled, quickly grabbing something from the man. What she grabbed was a sword, long and thin but stiff and strong, strong enough for her to fight with. She stood up and paid no heed to the man she just practically trampled over. "Gotta run, gotta run!" She started panicking, triggering slight transformations in her body. She felt her arms beginning to elongate and her feet become more doglike. Immediately, she started running on all fours like a dog, the sword now in her mouth.

She took a sharp turn into a building and started running _up_ the building, her body fixed on escape.

Unfortunately for her, the building she chose to ran up had a guard on it. As he started to attack her, she fought back with the sword and eventually wound up kicking him off of the rooftop.

Lacuna started leaping over the rooftops, her now-digigrade legs showing no sign of tiring.

Once she thought that she had lost the guards, she stood on a rooftop, the sword gripped tightly in her hand. She was unaware that an archer had his eye on her from afar.

There was a _twang_ through the air and Lacuna felt a sharp pain in her back along with something locking her shoulder blade. She let out a scream and noticed that an arrow had been shot at her back. She couldn't move her right shoulder; the arrow was blocking it, which would usually kill a regular person, but Lacuna's not normal.

She's a werewolf. It's practically impossible to slay her.

Quickly, she began to run away, ultimately winding up jumping down into a dark, lonely alleyway. She must have waited there, panting, for at least twenty minutes until she was completely sure that the guards had lost her for good this time. "I'm just not floatin' on cloud nine right now…I don't think that this a dream anymore." She stated as she held her left hand up to her mostly immobile shoulder. Blood was dripping from it profusely, pooling on the dusty ground beneath her. There was no way that she could pull out that arrow by herself. First of all, it's hard to pull out an arrow never mind one that deep. Secondly, it was hard to reach, which might only succeed her injuring herself even more than she already is.

Lacuna was startled when a figure jumped down from in front of her. She gasped as she realized that it was the man she had trampled over while she was escaping. She was too terror-stricken to say anything, but perhaps she didn't have to….

"You took my sword," the man in white robes stated. "I want it back."

"Are you a guard?" _Alright, world's most stupid question just asked. Of course he's not a guard! What's he wearing? A dress?_ Lacuna thought.

The man just stared her down.

"Okay…" She gulped. "I'll give you your sword back if you'll get this arrow out of my shoulder." She turned around, still kneeling on the ground.

He remained silent for a moment before saying, "That should have killed you."

"It's hard to kill a wolf, believe me. Is my deal fair enough?"

She heard footsteps behind her along with pressure on the arrow and a hand on her back.

He wasn't gentle in any way. He just yanked out the arrow as if he didn't care for her at all-and he probably didn't-but he could have at least done a countdown or something.

Lacuna let out loud puppy-like whimpers, pain coursing throughout her back.

"Give me back my sword now." He said with a stern voice, throwing the arrow aside.

"Give me a sec." She stood up and groaned, rubbing her shoulder. "Ouch." She sighed, feeling her legs shift into regular human form again.

Lacuna bent down and picked up the sword. "Sorry about that…I mustn't have been thinking straight."

He snatched it back from her and was about to walk away, but then hesitated, staring at her. He could clearly see her doglike features and was obviously curious as to how that arrow didn't kill her. She was barely even harmed by it. And now that he's met her, it would be unethical to leave her alone for the dead because anyone with clothes like hers wouldn't get too far without being spotted…and possibly killed.

"Come with me." He said and started to climb the alley walls.

Lacuna ran up the walls, almost beating him to the top. She was about to say something until she realized that if she didn't follow, he probably _was_ going to leave her behind.

He bounded across the buildings with the werewolf right at his heels. When an archer or roof guard spotted them, he would throw a knife at them with deadly accuracy that would hit them in a spot that surely kill them. Of course, Lacuna's reaction to the speed and precision that he could execute the moves was an exclamation of, "Holy shit!"

The man she was following was surprised that she could keep up with him, never mind have agility almost as good as his own.

He stopped over a wooden-like rooftop that reminded Lacuna of a garden. "Make sure that you tell absolutely _no one_ about this location, or I _will_ kill you."

"I don't have anyone to tell about it anyways." Lacuna said to him right as he jumped down an opening.

"Oh, perfect." Lacuna said sarcastically and soon followed him, folding her body to absorb the impact.

"Altair…you are back soon. _Too_ soon." A voice said.

_Malik?_ Lacuna thought as she entered the room after the man in white robes. _That means I'm in Jerusalem…or was Damascus?_

"I got interrupted."

"You-" He saw Lacuna. "Oh, great. Now you bring back women with you!"

"She needed my help, Malik. I need you to watch over her while I'm out."

"I am no baby sitter! If you got yourself into a mess, you must get yourself out."

"This 'situation' _Malik_ is much different. I'll have to explain later. Make sure she doesn't leave." And with that, he brushed past Lacuna to leave.

"Hey, wait! Guy-in-a-dress, can I get your name, at least?" By the time she finished, he was already up the wall and over. "Just great…" She said and turned back around to Malik, who continued to stare at her. "Um…hi?"

"Don't worry, I am not angry at you, as I am sure that this is not your fault."

"Well…it partially is."

"I'd have to believe that we are not the center of the universe to believe that you contributed to it. Don't worry, I won't hold you captive. You-"

"I stole his sword."

"-…"

The only emoticon that would show his expression would be O.O

"You _what_?"

"And then I ran like hell was at my heels because I was already being chased by peoples of whom I do not know. I didn't ask for his help though." Lacuna scratched herself behind the ear.

"Woo, you probably don't _ever_ want to do that again. Don't worry, if he plans on beating you up I'm sure he'll accidentally impale himself with his own knife, that ass…."

Lacuna had a blank expression on her face. "Rock on." She did the 'rock on' sign that he clearly didn't know.

* * *

By the time Altair had returned, Lacuna had been waiting patiently on a pile of pillows. She was startled when he dropped down-causing her to bark-which got her odd glares from both of them.

"Tell me your name." Altair ordered.

Lacuna was silent for a moment.

"Tell me yours first." _Alright, time to know if this is real or not, because that arrow felt pretty darn real._

"Altair."

"Altair? Hmm…that's a nice name. Reminds me of melting snow in Lapland." She closed her eyes and smiled to herself. "Mine's…Nemo." She lied. _Nemo? What the hell? Why did I say Nemo?_

"Nemo?" The man repeated. "Tell me where you come from."

Lacuna stood up. "Not here, that's for sure. Tell me…am I in Jerusalem?"

"Yes. How could you not know?" Malik said and entered the room.

"Because…um…" Lacuna looked at both of them. "I was unconscious and woke up in the cemetery."

They both looked doubtful.

"Dudes, I'm serious."

"Why were you in the cemetery?" Malik asked.

"Um…I dunno. I just woke up in it."

"Malik, I must speak to you. Nemo, stay here." He walked off with him into the other room. Their voices were muted, but Lacuna had good hearing.

"Like a dog?" Malik said.

"Yes. She was shot with an arrow in an area that should have killed her, but she obviously didn't die. She also wasn't weakened but it had locked her shoulder. The way she ran, the way she leapt, the way she barked and whimpered…it was like a dog."

There was a moment of silence.

"I'll need you to prove it to me, then."

'Nemo' at the moment started reciting the lyrics to 'You Spin Me Right Round' to make it seem as if she hadn't heard a thing.

"Take off your shoes." Altair ordered.

"What?"

"Your shoes. Take them off."

Nemo hesitated. "Why?"

"Just do as I say."

"Could you at _least_ say please?"

His look at her was hard and cold. Nemo, however, was undeterred.

"Fine." She kicked off her boots and pulled off her socks. "Happy now 'mister dress guy?'"

Malik stifled his laughter while Altair just frowned. "They're called robes."

"They look like bags of powder. Hmm…powder…."

"Let us see the soles of your feet."

"Whatever you say, Powder Pants." Nemo turned around while listening to Malik laugh out loud. She lifted up her right foot and immediately noticed that Malik's laughter ceased immediately. She heard him walk up to her and felt something grip her foot. _Seriously, how the heck did Altair know that my feet are padded?_

"Remarkable…just like dog's feet."

"Turn around." Altair demanded…again.

Nemo turned around and said, "What's wrong with my feet?"

"There will be time for that later." Altair said. "For now the sun is setting, I must rest." He walked towards her and sat down cross-legged on the ground, crossing his hands together almost as if in a prayer.

* * *

Nemo looked at the piece of fruit. Altair said nothing as he ate his portion of dinner. "Is this suppose to be an apple?"

Silence…of course.

"Geez, mister white Gothminister…you could at least say something."

Silence.

"What are you, emo?"

"I do not know of these phrases you use."

"Course you don't. You wouldn't."

"Where do you come from?"

"Eh?" Nemo was caught off guard. "Um…America." _Time to spill the beans._

"Where's that? Is it your country?"

"Yeah…it's in North America. You know…right?"

He looked up at her. "Where is North America?"

"Um…in the western hemisphere?"

"Western hemisphere?"

"Yeah…on the other side of the planet?" She gave him one of those why-the-heck-do-you-not-know-this look.

"Other side?"

"Yeah. You didn't the world was flat, did you?" She smile at him, noticing the fact that he didn't say anything. "So where do you come from? Here?" _I actually don't know this one…but wasn't Altair born in Masyaf? It never actually said…._

"I hail from Masyaf."

"Where's that?"

Now _he_ gave her a why-the-heck-do-you-not-know-this look. "What's it like where you come from?"

"Well, we get a _ton_ of snow. I just love the snow as long as it's not too much. There were a lot of forests around us, squirrels, a few rabbits…occasionally deer…."

"Was there water? Rivers?"

"Oh yeah, there's tons of water. I used to swim in the waters all the time with the other dogs around town. Lots of lakes, streams, ponds, rivers…lots of rain. It was cloudy a lot. The forests usually had a lot of moss because of all the rain." Nemo rambled on and on about the mountains and wilderness of her home. She wanted to make sure that he wouldn't ask anything about her family life. In return, he started saying things about _this_ land; the fact that it didn't receive much rain, it was hot, dry, dusty, most animals were domesticated, and the lands were dangerous.

"Wow, you actually got him into a conversation." Malik said from the other room. "I'm impressed. That man is like a wall-"

"I was only informing her about the land."

_Okay, I'm screwed. Why not be up in Lapland? Why not northern Russia or Siberia or something? I'm in a friggin' desert! But am I really in Assassin's Creed?_ Nemo wondered as she ate the apple.

* * *

It was dark in the room now. Nemo wanted to turn into a dog and curl up in a tight ball against Altair's warm body, but his reaction would probably be a 'get off me' along with a kick in the teeth.

He laid down on his back, hands behind his head and legs crossed. He took all of the pillows and gave Nemo just one. She didn't complain but would have enjoyed it if he had at least been a little bit more considerate.

Nemo curled up a ball, longing to be closer to Altair. She could easily tell that he had a lot of body heat and this ground was getting really cold. She glanced over at him, wondering if he was awake. His eyes were closed but something told her that he was faking it. She noticed that her teeth were chattering from the cold. She hugged onto the large pillow tighter and looked up at the sky through the rooftop.

"You're cold." He said.

"Obviously." Nemo closed her eyes and sighed, tightening her jaw, thinking of the song "You're Saviour" by Gothminister. She eventually fell asleep…and had no dreams of being a wolf that night…

There was something warm pressed up against her front side. She noticed that her hands were clutching something; cloth? It didn't feel like her own, but it was soft and warm. There was a small amount of pressure near her thigh and a gentle, warm breeze slightly ruffling her blonder-than-blonde hair. She quickly realized that the light breeze was Altair's breath, and she was clutching the cloth on his extremely broad chest. Her head was only a couple centimeters away from his clavicle; a little bit too close for comfort. She could also tell that it was still dark in the room, probably only two a.m. Not only that…but she realized that his left hand was on her butt.

"Hand off ass. NOW." Nemo said sternly, but the man didn't move. "Hey, are you awake?" His eyes were closed, but behind the hood, she could see a smirk. "You faggot, you are awake!" She rose her hand to punch him in the shoulder, but the moment she balled up her fist and moved it only a centimeter, his hand quickly flew up to hers and caught it at a lightning-fast speed. "Gar…whoa." She said, clearly surprised at his fast reflexes.

"Your teeth were chattering and I was getting annoyed."

"Oh…sorry." She let her arm relax as he let go of her hand. She looked up to the roof and saw the billions of stars, all mixed in together. "The sky looks really beautiful." Her only response an 'mmm' as if he didn't care much…or was only half awake. "I can't see all of these stars where I'm from."

"They're just stars."

"I know, but…they're still really beautiful. Do you see this every night?"

"Usually, except if it's cloudy, which is rare for this region."

"It was cloudy a lot where I'm from…but I liked it that way." She got no response that time. She turned back around and clothes her eyes that felt like sand was pricking them.

Altair raised his arm and put it around Nemo's chest. Nemo then figured out that the only reason his hand had been down so low on her body before was so that she wouldn't get too hot. Now, with his arm over her chest, she felt like she was sleeping under a furnace. She tried moving his arm down a little ways in the hope of getting at least a little bit of cool air.

* * *

Nemo felt herself going up and down as if she were being rocked to sleep. Then there was a strange vibration along with a monotone-like noise. Then she could hear the words….

"Nemo. Get off me."

Her eyes sprung open along with her body as she realized that the upper half of her body had been on Altair's chest; she usually slept like that on Markoh. Immediately, she felt her pale face grow hot like fire. "I am _so_ sorry!" She said, covering her face with her hands. "I was dreaming that I with my brother! Oh my gosh, this is so embarrassing!" She heard laughter coming from the entrance of the other room, coming from none other than Malik.

"Not even five a.m. in the morning and you've already made my day, Nemo."

"Oh, go…choke a lizard or something." She did an exaggerated wave of her left hand.

"Choke a lizard?" Altair repeated with a hint of amusement.

"Hey, where's my bag?" Nemo said as a surge of invisible panic came over her.

"Um…on your back?" Malik said uncertainly.

Nemo felt that her bag was still on her back and sighed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness." She took off her wolf backpack and unzipped it. She searched around for her phone, ready to show it to them. It was a quick thing that came into her mind, but if she explains that she's from another dimension, then perhaps they'll listen. Or at least believe that she really is from another faraway land. "I have to show you guys something…alright, um…where to start. I'm um…from another…dimension." _God, why do I talk this way every time I'm nervous?_

"You have got to be joking with us." Malik said.

"Here's proof." She took out her phone and saw that the charge on it was full. _That's weird. Last I checked it was only half-full._ "This is something called and Iphone Touchpad. It's a piece of technology commonly used where I'm from. It plays music and goes to things called 'websites' but it can't go to the website because this is the only one around." She showed them the 'Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage' screen. "So I can't access other things. But if I go into this…" She canceled out of the page and scrolled to her media player. They were obviously intrigued by the way how it moved with her fingers. "…then I can play music. If I tap it, it'll play." She started to play 'Purple Red Soil' by Flowing Tears and moved towards the middle of the song where it had more 'oomph' to it. "If I tap this, it'll stop playing the song. It's called data stored on things called bytes…if I recall correctly."

"I do not understand. How does it work? Did you make it?" Malik asked as Nemo handed it to him.

"I didn't make it, and I only know how to work it, I don't how it works. But we have a lot of fun with it."

"It plays music?" Altair said as Malik passed it back to her.

"All sorts of music. I mainly have a type of music called European metal on it, but I also have something else called heavy metal. Lots of screaming and can get annoying to some people, but if you're seriously pissed off, then it helps to relieve stress." She offered it to him.

"Gothminister." He said, reading the names of the bands aloud. "Nightwish, Within Temptation, Krypteria, Flowing Tears, Kamelot, Rammstein, Unsun, Girugamesh, Miyavi, Drowning Pool…what are all of these names?"

"They're the groups that play the music. Gotta give them credit, right? Tap the name of the band and it'll show all of the songs that I have from them on the phone. You can listen to all the ones you want…until it runs out of power. We recharge them by using electricity, but seeing that I can't really get any, it'll probably last only about five or six hours unless if I turn it off."

"Then you should probably turn it off." He handed it back to her.

"Remarkable…you are _truly_ from another dimension?" Malik said.

"Is that not proof enough? I have pictures of where I'm from." All of the pictures she displayed to them was of the snow, mountains, forests, winter, summer, and the wilderness. "Those lights inside the house aren't fire, they're 'artificial fire' called light bulbs. They use electricity instead." She turned off the phone and put it back into her bag.

"Very exciting, I have so many questions for you!" Malik stated, clearly showing his excitement. Altair walked off into the other room, most likely to fetch fruits for breakfast, either for himself or for all of them.

As the trio sat down and ate fruit from the basket, the very first question Malik asked just so happened to be, "How did you fall into this dimension, then?"

"_Fall_? Well…I don't know, that's the thing."

"How many other dimensions are out there?"

"Oh God, I have no clue. Heaven and Hell are two different dimensions if you believe in them, and Earth is a dimension itself…there's so many. Nirvana is one."

"Nirvana?"

"An afterlife for Hinduism…or is it Buddhism? Both? I can't remember." She bit into the bruised fruit. She could really go for some raw hamburger meat right now.

"What are your skills?" Altair asked.

"My _skills_? Well…I can act pretty good, I'm moderately good at math and I can read and write and I speak broken French…I swim, do art, know karate, I can-"

"Wait, can you swim well?"

"Oh yeah, I was on a swim team but then they kicked me out because apparently I kept on scaring everyone away."

"And you can speak French?"

"Broken French. I'm not very good at it. They taught it at the school I was at."

"You went to a school?" Malik said. "You must have come from a wealthy family."

"Wealthy? No, we were low class. School is free where I come from."

Malik almost spit out his drink.

"Does everybody go to school?" Altair asked.

"Yeah, it's required. Grades one through twelve, then possibly one to four years of college. It's always up to the person, of course."

"So you are well-educated."

"You bet your invisible tail I am. I'm also a wolf…er…werewolf. I would turn into a wolf and show you what I can do, but that'd be bad for the people outside. I can turn my legs into dog legs and no body would notice because I have long pans, so that could work."

"Could you turn into a wolf in here, then?" Altair said.

Malik immediately protested. "No, please don't. I'm not very good around dogs."

"I'm a _wolf_ not a dog, there's a difference. But I wouldn't mind. Now turn around, both of you."

"May I ask why?"

"Because in order to avoid ripping my clothes, I have to strip myself bare. Now turn around or I'll pummel you in the face." She saw the smirk behind Altair's hood as he and Malik turned around. _Hopefully he's not smiling about the fact that I'm about to go naked._

It was swift, roughly about five seconds before she was a full wolf. Her bones popped into place and her muscles shifte smoothly to adjust to the new setting. "Alright, turn around now." She said, sitting down on her hinds legs.

Malik screamed abruptly-making Nemo mentally smile-and Altair simply remained where he was but he had a surprised expression.

"You're much bigger than I expected." Altair said.

Even sitting down, she was at least five feet tall. Her padded paws were _gigantic_ with intimidating claws and her body was highly muscular, ready to show the sheer power of herself. She had an enormous chest and incredibly thick, fluffy fur, definitely not suited for this region of the world.

"Werewolves are big." Nemo said. Both of their eyes went wide.

"How can you speak without moving your mouth?" Malik asked.

Nemo's ears went back as she looked at him. "That's just us. As wolves, we speak without having to move our mouths."

"But how is that possible?"

"It just is. We're werewolves, and we're practically impossible to kill. You can shoot us with an arrow in the heart and we won't die."

"Then how do you die?"

"Decapitation. Drowning. Starvation. Dehydration. We're meant to survive, so neither of those will happen very easily."

Altair approached and extended a hand to her. She sniffed it, then brought her head back up and looked at him. "I'm also low maintenance."

There was a smirk of amusement behind Altair's hood.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

**WOOT eighteen pages and 6,603 words! Of course, there's stories by other people that are like…eighty pages long with 30,000 words. That's a dedicated author!**

**By the way, there's a reason as to why Nemo is so hard to kill, and it'll be in later chapters. Also, yes, when Nemo is a wolf, she doesn't move her mouth to speak. I think I might explain that later. Oh, and another thing; despite Nemo's bad grades, she would be considered **_**highly**_** educated for back then.**

**I'm going to have so much fun in the next chapter :D**

**I hoped you enjoyed, and please feel free to leave a review. All flames will go toward roasting marshmallows.**


	2. Bare Your Teeth

**I should have mentioned this earlier, but Nemo is slightly based off of my dog and other 'doglike' traits so there's no Mary-Sue, just a somewhat hyperactive eternal puppy in a way XD**

**I love dogs :D And I mean all dogs, I love all dogs :D :D (I should really say canines)**

**Alright, on with the story. Yes, see those little black symbols below the line that can only be defined as letters? Yes, my sarcasm sounds really mean but please read them on (no offense, anybody! XD)**

* * *

Nemo sat down on her hind legs, ears flipped back flat on her head.

"She's really persistent." Malik commented from the other room.

"I'm not taking you with me, that's final." Altair declared as he made his way up the wall. "Malik, make sure she does not leave."

And with that he left.

"Good luck on killing…Tala…humma humma guy…whatever is name is." Nemo wheeled around and padded over to Malik. "How long does this usually take?"

"Trust me, he is swift. He should be back within an hour."

"So what are you? A cartographer or something?"

"I suppose that is what you could say. Sorry, this is the first conversation I've had with a dog…I really don't know what to say."

"I'm a wolf, not a dog. There's a fine-lined difference."

"But wolves are dogs, no?"

"No. It's actually the opposite. I'll have to explain later." She brought her ears back around and sniffed the air.

She waited patiently for roughly fifty minutes until she heard bells ringing crazily throughout the air. She smiled mentally to herself as she thought, _Well, he got his target._ She laid herself back down against the cool stone. Despite the heat inside of the room, she restrained herself from panting.

A few minutes later, a fairly large figure jumped down from the rooftop of the bureau. Nemo stood up from where she was and bent her head as he walked in.

He glanced at Nemo before announcing his target's death. He was still getting his breathing under control.

"Yes, yes, I know, I know…in fact, the entire city knows! Have you forgotten the tenets of the creed?"

Nemo could have sworn she went cross-eyed as she listened to them bicker to each other. As it continued, she interrupted Altair (!) and said, "Will both of you shut up?" They both glared (okay, maybe only Altair) at her. "What's important is that mister bigshot guy over here got rid of that Tamir or talahoo guy…whoever it was you said…so why are you two dingbats arguing?" _God, Nemo, you really need to shut your mouth, you know very well why Malik hates Altair! Did I just call them dingbats?_

"She has a point." Altair said after about seven long seconds.

"Indeed, but now you have to figure out what to do with her, because I can't keep her." Malik said, turning around and crossing his arm. That was when Nemo remembered that he lost his left arm.

"Excuse me?" Nemo exclaimed while growling, the fur on her neck and back rising with anger. "I ain't no pet!"

"She will go back to her home." Altair said emotionlessly. Nemo immediately settled down and rose her head.

After averting her gaze to the ground, she said, "I can't."

"You ran away. Now you have to run back." Altair began to walk into the other room.

"I didn't run away. I told you, I'm from America." _Oh gosh, I seriously screwed up. I _am_ from another dimension, but I also said that I was from America. Okay…just stick with America. I hope they both forget about the friggin' dimension thing._

"Then go back to it."

"I told you, I _can't_. For…various reasons. One, I don't know how to dimension-travel and I also can't swim across the ocean." She noticed that when he looked at her, despite the lack of emotion on his face, he was doubtful. "There's no one there."

He seemed to loosen at those words.

"So what are you going to do, Altair?" Malik asked from the adjoining room.

There was silence for a few moments.

"I'll take her with me to Masyaf, since you are clearly not lying."

Nemo felt relief over her entire body but, in a somewhat thankful way, it was impossible for her to show it. Just another downfall and benefit of being a wolf; the lack of ability to show emotions on the face. The only one that she _can_ show as a wolf is anger and fear, which almost every human is familiar with. Snarling faces, baring teeth, ridged body-but smiling? As a wolf, she can't smile, but she can laugh. Of course, her mouth doesn't need to open to speak or laugh, but she can always wag her tail. As a wolf, the only way how people can tell her emotions by just looking at her would be her body language, not visages like humans use.

"Alright then. When would we be going?"

"Now."

"As in right _now_?"

"Return back to your human form." Altiar ordered as he sat down on the pillows.

"Really? But…I'm a dead target anywhere. Unless-"

"We'll take the rooftops, and at the gates of the city, if someone recognizes you and begins to chase you,"

"Run like hell." Nemo finished, mentally smiling at the smirk behind the dark hood. "Don't look."

"As shouldn't any man." Altair said, bringing his head down a little lower to prove that he wasn't going to watch.

After about a minute, Nemo got her clothes and her backpack on and was ready to go. _Convenience on feet,_ she thought to herself. "Alright mister assassin guy, I'm good to go."

"First and foremost; do you have any weapons on you?"

"Eh? Weapons? Well, I have one hell of a kick and a badass bite with some rather sharp claws…and I can jump pretty high. I never was any good at knives or anything like that."

"Take these." He tossed her a pack of five knives regardless of her lack of skill. They were sheathed in brown leather.

She frowned. "Perfect. A 'Sailor Moon' staff would be better."

"Do not complain."

"Eh? I'm not complaining, I'm just comparing and joking. You wouldn't know what 'Sailor Moon' is." She followed him up the wall. "Bye Malik!" She said rather gleefully.

"Huh? What? Oh, bye Nemo!" Malik said, caught off guard.

"Just follow me and stay close." He got a running start and jumped to the next building.

Nemo ran and leapt across the gap, landing at the edge of the other building. She quickly noticed that her legs had turned digigrade again. That would be very useful since dog legs naturally have more 'spring' to them than human legs, allowing her to leap farther, higher, and faster.

Altair jumped from one building's edge and grabbed onto a scaffolding, hoisting himself up quickly. Nemo jumped through the air and landed beneath him, jumping up to get to his level. _Wow…is he in a hurry or something?_ Just as she thought that, she heard someone from down below saying, "What are those two _thinking_?" and then there was a "What the hell are they doing?" and "They mustn't be of sound minds." _Go choke a lizard,_ she thought as she ran over to Altair. They both bounded across wooden beams over a marketplace and landed on another building's rooftop. They picked up their speed and jumped across another gap full of hustling, bustling people below. Nemo nearly missed but managed to catch herself with her right hand, using her claws to dig into the wood. _This is actually really fun…_ She smiled and jumped three bounds over to her newfound companion (or at least ally) and enjoyed jumping from building-to-building.

The two stopped on a wooden beam near the city gates, Altair crouching and Nemo standing. She could tell that he was contemplating as to how to get both of them by. "Nemo, I saw you run up a wall."

"Just like Alex Mercer from Prototype."

"What?"

"Oh…never mind…I was saying what I was thinking…."

"In order to get over the gates, you'll have to run up the wall. I'll move with a group of scholars. With a bit of luck, hopefully no one will notice."

"Alright…and if I'm caught I run, right?"

"You should grab a horse. The guards will most likely do the same."

"Um…okay." _I can run faster than a horse, just so you know._ "I'll meet you on the side." She ran off to the building that was nearest to the wall and jumped. Altair watched as something on her hands glinted in the sunlight. It was then that he realized that they were claws and she was using them to 'run' up the wall. It was simple; the claws dug into the stonework and her boots had enough traction on them to 'stick' to the wall, thus allowing her to propel her body forward. In reality, to anyone who didn't know those facts, they would think that she was just running up the wall and call her a demon for the speed that she could do it at. She wasn't actually 'running', she was climbing. All of the deductions made Altair smile.

The assassin jumped down in an empty alleyway and made his way into the middle of a group of scholars. He clasped his hands together and pretended that he was praying as he walked through the gates. Once he was a good distance away from the guards, he separated himself from the group and went off near the horse stables. He saw Nemo leaning her back against the wall, nearly hidden by a shadow. She walked up to him and said, "I usually hate crowds of people, but this is actually a good time to have one."

"Come." He walked into the stables and handed something to a man. The man said something to Altair in Arabic (at least that's what Nemo thought) and allowed him into a stall where a white stallion with a black mane and black tail stood. "This is Seema." He put reins on the horse and gently pulled her out. "We'll be riding her to Masyaf."

"She's your horse? Wow. She's beautiful." Nemo reached out a hand to her and smiled as she sniffed it, then started sniffing her neck and hair. It seemed as if she was becoming relaxed around the werewolf. "Seema is a suiting name. If I recall correctly it means 'treasure' in Arabic, right?"

"Yes, it does."

"You know, I really don't have to ride a horse. I mean…I've never ridden a horse before and I can run as fast a horse."

"No, you will mount her. But if you start feeling as if you're going to fall off, tell me." They both walked out of the stables and through the busy crowds of people. Nemo then heard something behind her and smelled a somewhat familiar scent.

"You! Girl!"

Nemo wheeled around.

Just as her luck would have it…it was the guard from the first day when she fell into the game.

"Um…Altair?" She said uncertainly, now walking backwards.

"Run." Is all he said before mounting his horse and plowing through the crowds.

Nemo veered around but quickly realized that the crowd was too thick for her to run through. She obviously didn't have enough momentum to jump over them, so as a last resort, she dove into a merchant's stand and grabbed onto the wooden awning, swinging herself around to dodge the now-panicking crowd. Just as she started to run away, something grasped tightly around her right arm and yanked her back roughly, but it obviously wasn't too effective because she was propelled into another merchant's stand, breaking the wooden beams supporting it. The whole frame of the stand came crashing down in one giant wooden heap, breaking all of the pots and delaying Nemo's pursuers. She jumped out from the wooden mess and just barely scaled a few people's heads as she landed behind him, now running at a full sprint.

She leapt a good seven feet in the air in order to avoid crashing into a wooden wagon of hay. The small stunt apparently surprised the guards and-for some strange human-related reason-stopped them.

She managed to catch up to Altair's horse and sustained the speed for a while until Altair decided to slow down. After a few minutes, they definitely lost the guards and were out of danger.

Altair stopped his horse and dismounted her, striding over to the now-panting Nemo. He smiled at her, obviously amused the by whole 'running into the merchant stand' thing. "I like your method of escape, but it's rather messy."

"Yeah, I'm not used to that kind of thing." She did a sheepish smile back to him and rubbed the back of her head, her legs subconsciously returning back to normal.

"We should be reaching Masyaf within three days, though I usually make it within two."

"I told you, I can run the whole way. Seema would probably like that better."

"No. It would be bad if others saw you running at a horse's speed or as a wolf."

Nemo sighed, but she knew that he was right; it _would_ be bad if anyone else saw her as a wolf or as a human managing to keep up with a running horse.

She mounted the horse after Altair and the immediate thought of a motorcycle came into mind. She thought that riding a horse would be similar to a motortcycle; it wasn't like one at all.

"Hang on around me." He ordered as he grabbed the reins. Nemo put her arms around him (which immediately made her feel uncomfortable) and thought to herself sarcastically, _This is just great…and weird._ As the horse went into a gallop, Nemo was forced to hang onto Altair even tighter. One thing she noticed that could make her laugh was the fact that she couldn't tell if he was wearing armor or just had rock-hard abs. Either way, she had been trying to avoid this kind of situation and failed rather epically. Unfortunately for her, she had no other choice.

After several minutes of riding, Nemo became used to the feeling of bouncing up and down on the horse and got a little more comfortable around Altair. He definitely didn't like the idea of having to have a girl wrap her arms around his abdomen-especially considering that neither of them had a choice in the matters-but there was undeniably no point in complaining. Not like it would change anything, anyways. He just didn't want Nemo to complain but he definitely did catch on to the fact that she didn't want to have to do this, and that good enough for him. Had she _wanted_ to then he would probably be a little bit angry at her and possible make her regret it later, but they were only doing what was necessary. Now he just had to figure out to explain Nemo to Al Mualim…or rather, have _her_ explain herself to him. But in order to address her formally, he should probably say her last name…

"Nemo, do you have a last name?"

"Huh? Yeah, I do, why?"

"What is it?"

"Coil. Nemo Coil. What's yours?" _Wasn't it Ibn'La-Ahad or something like that?_

He didn't say anything back. Of course…what did Nemo expect?

They rode for several hours straight, Nemo caught in the beauty of the landscape. All of the dry mountains and scrubby foliage for some reason highly fascinated her. Perhaps it was just the aspect of being in such a different place, making her forget her longing for the colder regions like Canada or Lapland. To Altair, there wasn't much to see and there was nothing special or new, but he was surprised at Nemo's reaction to seeing goats. Definitely unexpected to hear her to say, "Hey, goats! That's so cool, I've never seen a goat before!" _This girl can't possibly be serious…_ Altair thought to himself, mentally slapping himself in the face. He couldn't help but smile at the girl's reaction to every little thing as Seema glided over the landscape.

When the sun began to set, Altair stopped Seema and dismounted her along with Nemo, bringing the two off to the side of the road.

"That was really fun in a way. It was very interesting to see the land."

"You seriously have never seen a goat before?"

"Out of all the hours of riding, _that's_ all you have to say?"

There was another smirk behind the hood.

"Yeah, well…we never exactly had farm animals where I come from. Food always brought in by other towns, but as a wolf I would hunt animals, but I wouldn't share." She laughed to herself. "No one else would want to gut an animal, anyways."

"Good, then maybe you can gut this snake." He quickly grabbed a knife and threw it to the ground, stabbing a snake right through the head, pinning it to the ground. Nemo's eyebrows went up in surprise at his accuracy. "Be careful tonight. There are usually bandits and corrupted soldiers on the road and they wouldn't think twice about killing us."

"You can stab me in the heart and I won't die." Nemo said as she caught the snake. She had a burning desire to just eat the snake raw but she resisted, gutting the snake and cutting off the possibly poisonous head.

Altair got a fire started and stuck the snake on a stick, watching it roast in the fire. Seema munched on some of the dry grass peacefully. Nemo hated the smell of burning things, whether it was an animal or a plant, she hated it.

Altair grabbed the snake out of the fire and cut it in half lengthwise, handing half to Nemo. "I'm not really hungry. Least not anymore."

"You should eat it."

Nemo took it and ate it regardless of it being cooked. To her, snakes tasted a _lot_ better when raw.

The fire began to die down and Nemo began to realize just how cold this region of the world got during the night. She went over to Altair, putting her back against his warm back. Hopefully she won't wake up in an odd position again. Just as she closed her eyes to sleep, she heard Altair mumbling something. She strained her ears to hear what he was saying but then realized that he was saying prayers. _Must be in Arabic,_ She thought and closed her eyes, sighing.

* * *

Nemo was asleep, dreaming peacefully of running through the woods, chasing a deer through moss-covered grounds and cloudy skies. She felt herself going up and down peacefully, but then an unexpected thing happened. There was a low vibrating tone and a vibrating feeling, almost jostling her awake.

"Nemo. Get off of me."

Her eyes shot right open. She had her hands underneath her chin like a dog, the upper half of her body laying across Altair's chest. She nearly jumped out of her skin, immediately getting off of him, saying random incoherent apologizes and becoming an overall spaz-monkey. Altair just sighed and turned over, laying on his side. Nemo shut herself up and calmed down. She averted her gaze to the ground. "Thanks for waking me up instead of just shoving me aside." From the corner of her eye she saw him move, possibly twitch, but she just put a light smile on her face. "Sorry about that."

"Stop apologizing." He ordered.

Nemo laid back down. She closed her eyes, wishing that she could go back to the dream that she had been having. She started reciting the lyrics of 'Welcome Home' in her head, tapping her feet to the music as if she could hear it. She then caught whiff of something in the air. It was a human scent unmistakably, but it definitely wasn't Altair's. He smelt bad (as does every human) but not nearly as bad as this. Nemo lifted her head and smelt the air. "Hey, Altair, someone's coming." She shook him a bit.

He sat upright and looked up the road. "Get down." He ordered, pulling her down to the ground.

"Wha-"

"Shh, pretend you're asleep."

She did as ordered and heard footsteps coming near them. The wind hadn't been blowing in her favor; if it had been blowing in the opposite direction, she would have caught the scent a long time ago and warned both of them to move. She didn't smell or hear any horses which meant that they must have been either pathetic and/or overconfident bandits or soldiers on the move, which would also be odd considering the fact that it was incredibly late.

There were muffled voices as the footsteps approached. Then she heard, "Kill them both, take the horse and their belongings. No doubt there is something in that pack." Nemo wanted to jump up and transform into a wolf right away and bite their friggin' heads off or at least disembowel them until nothing's left, but she kept herself down. She knew that you could cut a werewolf in half and it won't die, it'll only come after you and succeed in killing you for good.

As a man came close to both of them, Altair jumped up with his hidden blade extended. He propelled the blade into the unsuspecting soldier's neck, killing him almost instantly. His cold look was directed right at the other soldiers as the first man went down.

Nemo, out of a natural reaction and panic, jumped up and got herself in a fighting position.

"Kill them! Kill them both!" One of the soldiers yelled. As one was coming after Altair, Nemo instinctively jumped a good ten feet in the air over Altair's head and landed in front of him, transforming into a wolf. The other soldiers stopped at the sight of the gigantic creature, confused as to what just happened, but nevertheless frightened. However, only one charged at them, making Nemo turn her attention on him automatically. She barked once and charged as well, swerving back and forth to gain momentum. She jumped and sunk her teeth deeply into his shoulder. She heard him scream as a rather intense snarl appeared on her face when she landed on top of him. She let go of him and brought her head up, opening her now-bloodied mouth sticky with long strands of salvia. She began attacking him again and again ruthlessly until he stopped moving and screaming. She whipped around and put her head low to ground, now blinded by rage. How dare they attack them!

She snarled and growled, frightening shadows cascading over her features as the fire began to roar back to life after being jostled a bit by the commotion. Her pearly white teeth shined as her yellow-colored eyes reflected the reds and oranges from the fire. She barked, spit flying in her enemies' direction. Swerving from left to right in order to avoid being hit with by the swords, she jumped from man-to-man, biting and cutting them down with her teeth and claws. She rose one paw and slammed it into a soldier so hard that he was sent flying a good twenty feet away, hitting his head against a rock.

Nemo jumped as a sword swung at her. She landed on top of the soldier and sunk her gigantic teeth into his abdomen, lifting him up in the air. She flung him back and forth as if he were a rag doll, killing him by giving him one final bone-crunching bite. Still holding him in her bloody jaws, she turned her attention to another frightened guard. She let go of her now-dead enemy, listening to his heavy body fall to the dusty ground. As her target began to flee, she ran after him, pouncing on his back. She turned him over with a powerful swipe of her paw and tore out of his throat.

She spun herself around and dodged another incoming sword. This soldier was faster with the piece of steel than the others. Nemo found herself backing up, but once she saw a break in the swings, she went low to the ground and bit his jaw, ripping it off easily. She went for the second-to-last soldier and jumped, sinking her razor-sharp teeth into the arteries of his left shoulder.

Almost in slow motion, her cold gaze was on the last man as she fell, face snarling and wrinkling with anger as bright-red blood flew past her.

She landed and looked at the last man. He was just standing there, speechless. Anyone could recognize the look. Panic, wanting to run away as fast as possible, yet the legs seem paralyzed in fear. He was about to flee but just couldn't, stuck there as if he were a statue. Regardless of all of it, Nemo still charged after him, showing him no mercy whatsoever.

The gigantic wolf turned back to Altair. He had his sword-bloodless and clean-held in his right hand. Though his face did not show it, he was utterly surprised and amazed.

Nemo immediately stopped snarling and growling and loosened her face once she realized what she had done. She looked around in panic, seeing the dead soldiers.

One had a broken skull from being thrown against a rock, one had been disemboweled, two with crushed skulls from her paws, one with a dismembered jaw, one with a ripped-out throat, all the others with punctured arteries to an arm. All of them had claw and bite marks and all of them were dead.

"No, no I couldn't have," Nemo said, retreating from where she stood. "How did I?" Her breath was forced out of her as she witnessed the carnage. "I…" She looked over at Altair. He put his sword back in his sheath and said nothing.

Nemo quickly transformed back into a human. Naked and trembling, she collapsed on her knees and wrapped her arms around herself, wailing in disbelief at her own actions. She cried, her blonde hair covering her face. She felt a hand on her back and saw Altair kneeling there beside her, wordless.

She covered her face with her hands, feeling her hot tears as she sobbed, "I'm sorry…I'm _so_ sorry!" She continued saying incoherent apologizes as if the soldiers' souls could hear her-and perhaps they could-but received no response. They had been _retreating_ from her, ready to flee for their lives and never bother them again, but she still killed them, showing no clemency. She had been _blinded_ not by fear, but by rage. She had never killed a person before and never planned to, yet here she was kneeling and sobbing on the ground after just taking out an entire _platoon_ of highly-trained soldiers.

"Nemo, you did what you had to." Altair said. "If you had stopped, they would have reported a ravage animal or a demon to others and they would have had proof to show it. You just saved _both_ of us, understand that."

"But I didn't _mean_ to kill them!"

"You did the right thing. There was no other choice."

"But what if there was?" She threw out her left arm and pushed him away. "They didn't need to die!"

"I told you the truth. It's up to you to accept it or reject it."

Nemo was quiet for a while before closing her mouth and gazing at the ground.

After about a minute of silence, Altair came up to her with what was left of her clothes. Her bra and shirt had been ripped in half length-wise at the seams but her pants and boots looked like they had been pulled off, still intact. She took hold of them and hugged them against her chest, squeezing her eyes shut. Someone would find this carnage and know it was not done by a human. Humans, despite all of all their barbaric and outlandish ways of killing their own kind, were not capable of this. It'd be better to move from the gory scene and just accept what had happened.

When Altair turned around to avoid seeing anything 'explicit,' Nemo put on her pants and boots but knew that there was no way to wear her shirt…and she couldn't just go around topless. Not only was that just completely weird and overall totally not right, but she would get sunburned and there were also other people around.

"Altair…do you happen to any other clothes on you? My shirt ripped in half and…" She had to stop herself from speaking in order to avoid crying again.

Altair took off his robe and anything that was apparently in the way. He then took off a white tunic (which had been covering another shirt) and tossed it backhanded over to her. "I can't have a shirtless girl with me."

Nemo forced a smile and quickly put on the shirt. It was definitely _way_ to big for her; in fact, there was a good five extra inches from her arm and the cloth when she extended her arm out horizontally. The end of the shirt went down about three inches past her waist but it was _much_ better than nothing at all. "You can turn around now…" She said quietly, crossing her arms. She wanted to just fall back down on the ground and cry, but she resisted, accepting fully what she had just done.

"We will just continue to ride to Masyaf now since neither of us will sleep." Altair said as he mounted Seema.

"I won't be able to sleep for a month." She mounted the horse, unable to look at the deceased men. She wished that this whole thing had never happened.

But maybe Altair was right. Maybe she didn't have a choice, maybe there was no other option, and maybe she just saved them both.

* * *

**5,045 words, twelve pages!**

**Yeah, that was definitely a weird chapter. Don't worry, they'll become friends probably in the next chapter, but it's not going to be a girlfriend-boyfriend romance thing. Nemo doesn't want romance…nor does Altair…so they'll be friends, nothing more nothing less. If I wanted it to be romance, then that would be the genre, but it is clearly not XD**

**Tell me; did you likey? I know that a lot of weird things happened, but still, did you likey?**


	3. Arrival

**I don't own Assassins Creed, I'm just borrowing the characters and…everything else except for Nemo and a couple other things…so please don't sue!**

**Also, yes, there IS a difference between wolves and dogs. It'll be explained later, unless you want to research it yourself. That's always fine, too. :D**

* * *

Arriving in Masyaf was a little awkward. Some of the guards near the gate were looking at Altair rather oddly for bringing a woman with him. Either way, as they passed, they commented on nothing. "Stay close," Altair said. Nemo responded by walking a little bit closer to him. She recognized the fortress on top of the gigantic hill. In the past, she had looked up pictures of the real Masyaf on Google Images and was surprised to see that they looked very similar. Though, in modern day, she wasn't quite sure if Masyaf was abandoned or if people still lived in it. Then again, this was the past, not future. Better just make the past the present.

"Altair," A man near a tree said, getting both of their attention, "The Master awaits for you inside. Who is this you bring?"

"My thanks, friend." Altair said and walked right by him. Immediately, Nemo began to feel unease settling in her stomach. She felt extremely nervous, yet they weren't even half of the way to the fortress. She just couldn't help but the notice that odd glares they were both receiving from the other assassins-or soldiers…possible guards-which gave her only more anxiety and nervousness.

They walked through the tunnel-like gate to the fortress. Once the duo were out in the open space near the fighting rink, Nemo subconsciously grabbed onto Altair's right arm as if it would stop the staring. Whispers arose from the crowds as the noise began to die down just at the sight of the two.

Altair must have had a seriously large impression for the crowds to actually split a path for him, but maybe it was just because he had a 'guest.'

"No need to cling to me so tightly." Altair said. "They're your allies, they aren't going to harm you."

She said nothing, only clung onto his arm tighter like a little kid frightened by a big crowd. From that one move, she heard even more whispers and a couple gasps of surprise. Was it really that much of a sight?

A man stepped in front of them.

"Alta-"

"You're in my way." The assassin interrupted.

"Who is-"

"None of your business. Move." He shoved him aside with his free arm and entered the building. Large stone pillars and stone archways supported the interior, decorated by flags of Masyaf. Hundreds of books were placed on wooden bookcases while a few people rummaged around, looking for certain works of literature. The masonry of the floor and walls amazed Nemo, causing her think that it was even more awe-inspiring in real life than on a screen.

They ascended the stairs and made their way to 'the Master.'

"I have arrived, Master." Altair said.

The man turned around and saw them both. He was at least sixty years old with a long, stiff, white-and-gray beard. He was wearing a black robe with his hood down and a pair of brown boots.

Nemo let out a small gasp when she saw him. Her legs were _screaming_ at her to run but she resisted against herself yet again.

"Ah, who is this you bring before me?" He spoke in a kind, gentle voice, looking at Nemo. "And, please forgive me if I am being rude, but is she wearing your tunic?"

"Yeah, heh…about that-" Nemo began, only to be interrupted by Altair.

"This is Nemo Coil. I will allow her to explain herself to you, Master."

"Ah, she must be of importance for you to bring her here."

"I, um…I d-don't know where t-t-to start." Nemo stuttered.

"That is alright. Take your time, child."

…_Child?…_"I'm a werewolf." She noticed the long silence that took place after the three-worded sentence.

"I am afraid that I do not know what a werewolf is."

"Oh, um…I uh…can turn into a wolf. I can prove it." She took off her black, fingerless gloves and walked over to him. "See? My hands have dog pads and so do my feet. Sometimes I also have a tail. I would show you what I look like as a wolf, but I don't want to rip these clothes. Altair was kind in giving me his shirt after I ripped mine…."

"And may I ask _how_ you ripped it?"

"Oh." Nemo put her gaze to the ground. "I don't want to talk about that."

"We were attacked by a platoon of soldiers at night. Nemo killed all of them but one, which must have been about ten men. Upon transforming, her shirt ripped."

He was silent for a moment. Al Mualim knew that Altair definitely wouldn't lie; he just wasn't that kind of person. So for him to admit that Nemo is indeed a werewolf…

"So you are clearly not lying."

"Why would I lie?"

"She also claims to be from another dimension. She has a device that is clearly not from here. Show it to him, Nemo."

"Oh, you mean the phone or the highlights?" He glared at her. "Right. You probably mean the phone." She took off her wolf backpack and rummaged around for her Iphone. When she got it, she turned it on and checked the power. _What the? The battery says it's fully charged. It's not even blinking. Maybe it's a malfunction…._ She showed it to Al Mualim, demonstrating how to use it and play music from it. He seemed interested when she started playing 'Welcome Home' by Coheed and Cambria. "See, it also can't get on the internet because it's the only one around in this world. No other device is around to make it work. If I could, then I would show you what a webpage is."

He studied it a little more. "Truly a remarkable device." He handed it back to her. "May I ask how you got into this…_dimension_ then?"

"I don't know how. There's a type of fabric that separates dimensions from each other-least that's my theory-and I suppose that once in a blue moon there's a rip for a split second, allowing entry into another dimension. I probably got pulled in somehow. Again, that's just my theory I've had for a long time, I didn't do anything to get here. But I did wake up in a cemetery. Wouldn't be a first; in fact, it was probably the eleventh time that happened, but I thought that I was dreaming. Then when I got shot by an arrow I realized that it was all real."

"An arrow, and you don't have any bandages? Where did you get hit?"

"On my shoulder. The mark's probably not there, but Altair got it out." She proceeded to tell him how they met and explained the 'strange device' even more, going around the media player and whatnot. She started to speak of all sorts of things, like what the weather was like in Montana and how she managed to get her clothes. She even explained to him the hair dye in her backpack. Quite frankly, she was surprised that he was even still listening. In fact, it looked like he _wanted_ her to continue. After talking friendly for a while, Nemo had gotten relaxed around him. It was like she was making a new friend as he began to speak of what it was like around Masyaf.

"You do seem like a very nice girl, Nemo." He smiled warmly at her. "Altair, I have a new mission for you. A mission on top of missions, I should say. I want you to watch over Nemo, keep her with you."

Altair was about to say something, but then stopped himself. "Alright, I shall. What of my next target?"

After Al Mualim told Altair of his 'next target' (which sounded just _lovely_ to Nemo), he said, "Now both of you rest and clean up. Dinner will be in three hours." He smiled at them again.

Nemo, now more comfortable around the new place, walked beside Altair. "Don't worry, I'm a low-maintenance canine."

"I can get your shirt and that other…_thing_ of your fixed."

"You sew?"

"No, but there is a highly skilled tailor nearby. She can fix those two clothing items despite them being foreign."

On the walk over to the tailor, Nemo found herself gawking at the buildings. Even the dilapidated ones amazed her. Masyaf wasn't really a big place; in fact, it was probably only as big as her town in Montana.

They entered into a small building that had a blanket covering the entryway, acting as a door. Inside there was a lady, probably around forty years old with elderly-looking hands and long black hair sitting at a table, working on an article of clothing. She looked up at the two, immediately noticing Nemo's odd clothing.

"Hello, Mia. We need two articles of clothing repaired. They're quite different, but I'm sure that you can fix them." Altair said.

"Alright, then. Let's see these clothes of yours." She stood up and sauntered over to them.

_Wow, she's really tall…and beautiful. _Nemo thought as she dug around in her backpack and took out her shirt and sports bra. "They ripped on the seams. Could you fix them, please?" She handed them over to Mia. She examined them and said,

"They are indeed different, but I am sure that they will be fixed by tomorrow." She smiled at her. "This is an easy task." She turned back around to her table.

"Thank you, Mia." Nemo said before Altair dragged her out of the building by her collar. "She's a nice lady."

* * *

There were about five rows of seriously long tables, all probably with a hundred or more chairs. The Master apparently sat at the end of the table that Altair and the other 'high ranking' people sat at. Along the tables were gigantic assortments of all sorts of foods, varying from mutton and chickens to steaming, fresh breads and fruits Nemo couldn't identify. To a canine's nose, all of the scents were overwhelming and mixed together into one gigantic scent. Servers walked around with jars of water and-according to Nemo's nose-beer, as well. Everyone put their hands together at the same time and said some prayer in Arabic. Nemo, who knew only a few words of Arabic, just said her prayers in English. Once they were all finished with that, everyone dove into the food. Nemo just waited patiently and watched everyone, noting how beautiful the servers were.

The werewolf went wide-eyed at seeing the amount of food Altair took. "Holy cow."_ That must be at least five pounds of rice right there._

Altair just looked at her.

"You eat like a horse!"

"You don't even have anything in your plate yet."

"Oh…I wait until everyone else is done serving themselves." It was just out of habit. Nemo had no pack, but it still was in her blood. In wolf packs, the alpha male and alpha female eat first, and usually eat the most. After they're done, the lower-ranking wolves eat and usually get the least amount of food. Except, of course, if they're a lone wolf. Nemo-for some strange wolf-related reason-found herself low-ranking in this gigantic mess of people.

"You should probably serve yourself now." He said as he began to eat a mountain of rice.

Nemo got a rather small portion of rice and grabbed a small amount of meat as a server came by and filled their cups with water. "Oh, thank you." She said as the server walked away. The woman looked back at her and smiled. She noticed that no one else was thanking them.

"If you need anything else, just say so." She went on to the next person.

The dining hall was loud with laughter and voices. Nemo noticed that she was the only girl seated. Not only that, but she was at the highest-ranking table. Eyes were still staring at them from various people, but no one asked them about anything.

"So what's it like being a dog?" Altair asked rather randomly.

Nemo picked up her gauntlet of water and held it over Altair, turning it upside down and pouring the water on his head. Altair just froze there with his spoon halfway to his mouth. There was an outbreak of laughter and gasps if surprise.

Nemo slammed her cup down, saying (or yelling), "I'm a _wolf_, not a dog, get it right!"

Altair picked up his own cup and threw the water on Nemo.

Nemo stood up, chair screeching loudly as she did so. "Excuse me, ma'am," She said as she took hold of the jar of water from a nearby server. She walked back over to Altair and poured the liquid over her semi-friend's head, then down his neck and back until there was nothing left in the jar. She gave it back to the server as the eruption of laughter in the room made Al Mualim's voice muffled.

"_Enough_!" Al Mualim roared, silencing the entire room. "We shall now continue a _peaceful_ meal. However, thank you Nemo, for the entertainment." There was a small smile of amusement on his face.

Nemo found herself laughing but Altair didn't look very happy. If anything, he was ridged.

"You probably have no clue who you're messing with," The man sitting next to the werewolf said through his amusement.

"No, I do, I'm just not afraid of him." Nemo said as she took a bite of her chicken.

* * *

"This is where you'll be staying with me." Altair said as he opened the door to a room. There was a rather large single twin-bed off in the left corner (it was probably half the size of a king-sized bed) near a glassless window. There was a wardrobe at the other end of the room next to a wooden desk with ink and quills. Candles were mounted on the walls and on the desk a well as an extra blanket off in the basket. A small bookshelf was filled with literature of all sorts. Some of them had Arabic scrawled on the covers and others were in English. Nemo wondered if there any _Qur'ans_ on the shelf, seeing as to how he was Islamic. Definitely not totally Islamic, but Islamic nonetheless.

"It actually looks rather cozy in here." She commented, looking around. "Want me to sleep on the floor?"

"No, you get the bed."

"Really? I mean, I couldn't. It's yours and I'm a guest so no thank you but I really am thankful but I can sl-"

"Nemo." He looked at her. "It's not good for you to sleep on the floor." _She's really too quick to apologize…._

"Oh…okay." She looked over at the books. "What kind of books are those?"

"Journals, notes, Qur'ans. I thought I saw books in your pack."

"Oh yeah! I forgot about those." If she had a tail at the moment, it would be wagging as she got out the first book she reached for. She pulled volume one of _Oninagi_. "I really like this one. It's about a girl named Nanami Kushimiyia and she's a reincarnation of Princess Kinkan from four hundred years ago and she meets this grade-one demon slayer of the Divine Enforcers named Tomotaka Onigoroshi-" Nemo went on and on about the book, saying names and words that Altair had no idea were. After that, she took out _City of Bones_ and said, "This is my favorite book. It's a novel instead of a manga."

Altair kneeled down with her on the ground, picking up _Oninagi_. He flipped through the pages. "There's a lot of pictures."

"Yeah, that's what a manga is. A Japanese comic book. You read the pictures and the words instead of just words."

"Japanese? Is that an ethnicity?"

"Yeah. Japan is the place." _They don't know about Japan?_ "It's off to the east. Far, _far_ to the east."

"These pages. They don't feel like parchment."

"They're paper, made from trees. All of the books where I come from are like that." She continued talking about the books and then started talking about romance novels. "-romance novels are so beautiful. They warm your heart and embrace your soul in such a compassionate way it makes you want to cry." She said rather poetically yet sarcastically, putting her hands up exaggeratingly to her heart and closing her eyes. "Of course, I just want friendship, not the sappiness of a kissy-smoochy relationship. I'm not that kind of girl."

Altair smirked behind his hood. Out of curiosity, he looked into her pack and took out the hair dye. "So this changes your hair color?"

"Yeah. This is my real color; blonde. White, rather. If I put this stuff on, it'll turn it black. These over here are red highlights. They eventually wear away, but they last for a long time."

He rotated them in his hands, putting them back in her pack. "Come. Both of us need to wash up. I'll take you to the bathhouse."

"Cool, I've never seen a bathhouse before! We had individual bathrooms with showers and whatnot but-" So she went on and on again.

_What kind of run-down place does she come from if they don't even have a bathhouse?_ Altair thought, quickly noting that he was judging her.

"What a minute; I don't have an extra pair of clothes."

Altair walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of black pants. "I'll have yours washed. For now, use these, keep them for now." He threw her the pair.

The bathhouses were actually quite lavish. The water was hot and steamy, rocks acting as seats. It was like an overall hot spring, just indoors. Fragrances of flowers and soaps filled her lungs, allowing her relax. She took in a breath and submerged herself underwater, transforming into a wolf. She came back up and took in a breath of the wonderful air. _This is so much better than any other shower I've _ever_ taken_. She thought to herself, settling in with the water. She laid herself down on a rock and put her head on her paws, sighing. Her ears perked up when she heard the doors open. There was laughter of girls. _Whoops…I thought that I was going to be the only one._ She threw herself back into the water and watched the girls enter the room. When they saw her, they stopped laughing and gasped. "There is a dog in the water!"

"No, no, it's me! Nemo!" She said, standing on her hinds legs and putting her paws up as if she were submitting.

"Did it-did it just _speak_?" One of them asked in astonishment.

"Go ask Altair! I'm a werewolf, don't worry! See? I'll roll over for you!" Out of panic, she rolled onto her back (obviously sinking). Only her paws showed from the water, up in the air. She turned back around and saw that the girls were laughing.

"Of _course_ you are!" One of them said. "So that rumor that you're a wolf is _true_! We thought that someone was just trying to mess with our heads and wanted to believe that you were crazy in your mind, but my, this is exciting!" The women then came over to her.

_Huh? They're not afraid? Almost anyone would run away_.

Nemo spent the rest of her time with the other women, becoming pampered in a way. Apparently they loved dogs, but the women were being so kind to her that she decided not to flip out at them calling her a dog. It was rather relaxing, actually. They washed through her fur with the soap, pouring water of her body and playing with her in a way. The wolf was utterly surprised at the fact that they didn't freak out. In fact, they were _enjoying_ washing her. After that, Nemo trotted through the courtyard to the barracks. The sun was almost done setting, so there was still light outside.

She padded over the beautiful masonry, carrying the clothing in her mouth. She kept her head leveled with the rest of her body, her long legs striding over to the stairs. Some of the assassins and soldiers that were still outside looked at her. She just glanced at them, not even trying to smile. If she tried, it would just be a baring of the teeth, of which humans recognize as a sign of aggression. Usually it is, but in this case it wouldn't be.

The metal tags on her collar clinked as she waited at the top of the stairs for Altair. His scent up the stairs was fresh but was only from a couple hours ago when they went to the bathhouses. After waiting about twenty minutes, he showed up at the bottom of the stairs. He didn't look at her until he was up at her level. "The ladies here are really nice," She said, "I think that they like to clean my fur." She wagged her tail and followed him back to the room. Nemo looked around again and closed the door with her tail, sitting on the ground. "What now?"

"We sleep." He took off his boots and laid down on the bed, putting his hands behind his head. Of course; there wouldn't be much to do after the sun went down.

"You smell like flowers."

_Mmm_, was the response she got. Nemo sighed and said, "Is Al Mualim still in the fortressy-thingy near the desk?"

"He's usually there until the sun is completely set."

"I think I'll go pay him a visit now that I'm a wolf."

"Just be back before the sun is completely down."

"You've already seen me in my kick-ass mode." She joked and left, padding over to where Al Mualim hopefully was.

Thankfully for Nemo, he was there. "Al Mualim," She said to get his attention, stopping near his desk. He turned around from the bookshelf. "I thought that you should see my wolf side." She brought her head down a little lower.

"Ah, so it is you." He put away the book that he was holding and bent down to her. Nemo's ears subconsciously went flat again her head. "You truly are a beautiful _wolf_."

"Thanks for not calling me a dog." _Unless you're trying to butter me up or something…_

"Well, I don't want water poured down my back. I see that you don't need to move your mouth to speak. How is that?"

"I can't say. It's just how we speak."

After about ten minutes, Nemo returned to Altair's quarters and turned back into human form.

* * *

Altair awoke laying on his back, Nemo nestled in between his arm with her head on his chest. Her hand was near her chin, arm curving on his chest. He shook her a little bit, trying to gently awake her. "Nemo, wake up."

"Mmm…I don't want to go to school…." She mumbled, not even half-awake, sighing. "Is it a snow day?" She mumbled again, shifting ever so slightly. Altair settled himself back down, putting his hand on her shoulder, moving his thumb back and forth in the hopes that it might jostle her awake.

Altair just sighed. Now that he was stuck with her, he mine as well just get to the fact that she slept this way. He wondered if she would sleep this way on anybody.

A few minutes later and Nemo awoke. Of course, her reaction was jumping out of her skin saying apologies left and right and spazzing out, but Altair shushed her and told her that it was alright. Then she laughed, already gleeful. Her yellow eyes were only half-open as she smiled and spoke of a dream about running through the woods again. "Sorry that I keep on sleeping on you…I don't mean to."

"It's fine." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, stretching his arms out.

"Do you want to leave the room while you ge-" Before she finished, he was already taking off his shirt to change into his day shirt. "-…dressed." Nemo turned around, left eye twitching. _I've seen half-naked guys before but never in real life. I hope he never does that again._ She thought, quickly changing into her own clothes.

"Why do you keep those half-gloves on?" Altair asked.

"Huh? These? Oh, well…dog pads are really rough and I didn't want to hurt you, so I kept them on." She grabbed her backpack and put it on. "Can I get my original shirt back today?" She asked.

He was quiet for a while. "Breakfast won't be for a while, so let's head over there now."

By the time Nemo got her shirt back and got to the courtyard, a few people were brawling in the rink at the courtyard. They watched for amusement while they waited. She was surprised to see how strong the instructor was, taking on other instructors down one-by-one. The small crowd cheered his name. Nemo just stood there quietly, watching beside Altair.

"Why don't you give it a try, little lady." A man said.

Nemo glared viciously at the voice. "Little lady?" She hissed, the right side of her mouth twitching. She could have sworn that if she were an anime character, her eyes would be either black or bright-red.

"It'd be…hmm…interesting. Unless of course if you have something else to do."

Suddenly everyone-except for Altair-started urging her to take on the instructor. She was nearly pushed into the rink. Of course Altair wasn't going to help her; he didn't want anyone to think that he was protecting her. Nemo was on her own.

She jumped the fence and said, "Alright, you asked for it." She got into a fighting position.

The instructor charged at her. Nemo easily dodged the overconfident man and caught him by the scruff of the neck, punching him three times in the stomach and then underneath the jaw, making him fall to the ground. Everyone in the small audience was wide-eyed and completely surprised, speechless. The instructor was definitely defeated, groaning in pain on the ground. To most other people's surprise, Nemo bent down beside him and offered him a hand, smiling. "It's your fault." She helped him back up onto his feet.

"I'm sure that I can take this dog down." A voice said, followed by a man jumping the fence.

Nemo glared venomously. "_Dog_?"

"She is a woman, you really think that she will fight _me_?" He said to the rest of the audience, arms out horizontally with a stupid, cocky grin on his face.

"LIKE HELL I WILL!"

"Come on, how hard can this little doggy be? I-" He turned his back for a split second. During that time, Nemo ran up to him and kicked him 'where the sun don't shine,' punched him in the stomach three times, picked him up with one arm and then used the other to slam him down to the ground.

"Come on, who's next?" Nemo said, bringing her fingers in and out as if it would make her next opponent come.

The next man to enter the ring got swiped to the ground and received a bloody nose along with being punched five times. The guy after that received a similar 'punishment' for calling her a dog. The guy after that wound up getting thrown into the crowd…literally…knocking down five other people. The unfortunate man after that would have been sent to the infirmary if Nemo hadn't pulled herself back. After that, no one else wanted to fight her. "I hate being called a dog." She said to herself and balled up her fist, forcing a twitching smile on her face.

"Why don't you take her on, Altair?" A man asked the assassin. "Surely you can beat her."

"I know better."

"Oh, afraid now, huh?"

"No. She just isn't ready yet."

Nemo jumped the fence and strolled over to Altair. "I love being able to pummel people in the mouth after they call me a dog."

"To what people?" The man beside the assassin asked.

"Punch, beat-up, kick, knock the crap out of, stuff like that."

The breakfast was normal. Nemo had a large plate of meat and nothing but except for the milk she drank. Apparently they would leave for Damascus tomorrow, allowing both of them to pretty much do whatever.

At some point in the day, Altair had to leave to go someplace within Masyaf and he obviously didn't care to tell Nemo where. He told her to stay within the fortress until he got back.

Nemo leaned on the wooden fence, listening to the sounds of the people clashing swords in the arena. She then wondered throughout her mind, daydreaming. Then her ears picked up on something from a group of soldiers nearby. She eavesdropped on their conversation.

"That's that _girl_, Nemo. There's a rumor that she killed an entire platoon of soldiers and got out unscathed."

"_Impossible_, that's preposterous. She is a woman, the only thing she would have done would have been to cry for help."

"No, Gohl returned from his mission and saw carnage beyond imagination on the road. The methods of how they were killed couldn't possible have been a man's doing."

"How so?"

"Three of them had crushed skulls, other were-" He continued to go through the list, making Nemo get a sinking feeling in her chest. One thing that caught her attention was the way how he said 'nearly decapitated' instead of 'throat torn out.' "There were also gigantic bite marks, punctures far too big for any dog to have done."

"You really believe that nonsense? It's a child's story that she came up with, saying that she's a wolf. She is probably crazy in the mind. Al Mualim just doesn't want to get her upset and assigned Altair to baby-sit her. He'll probably use her as bait for something."

_Bait…? I'm not that stupid._

"No, there was also a sighting of a large wolf nearby. I heard the women talking of it."

"Women? Pft, of course they would, believing stories like that. What did they say about it?"

"They said that she was really nice and can speak without moving her mouth! Quite remarkable."

"Impossible. You are all such children, believing in that ridiculous baloney."

"Also, she fought with six men this morning in the rink, one of them being an instructor. She defeated all of them without even getting hit and even threw a man into the crowd. Altair even refused to fight her."

"I'd have to see this 'wolf' before I ever believed that ludicrous." Out of the corner of her eye, Nemo saw him cross his arms. She sighed and continued to watch the fight.

_I wonder when Altair will be back,_ Nemo thought, _He said 'before dusk' but I don't even know what time it is. It could still be eleven for all I know…._

* * *

**Hey, at least they're not calling her a cat. XD**

**Yes, for those who haven't noticed or have forgotten, Nemo wears a loose dog collar.**

**Also, a **_**Qur'an**_** is an Islamic holy book for those who don't know. Almost like how Christians have the Bible.**

**Have a nice day! Week…month…life…whatever XD**


	4. It's Always Sunny in Damascus

**I posted up a picture of Nemo on Deviantart. It looks only slightly like her though -_- V.V I couldn't really do any better (sigh).**

**Okay, you know how Nemo's name is Lacuna? I've been pronouncing it wrong this whole time . I've been saying lak-oon-a but it's pronounced differently, I don't know how to write it -_- I still think I'm not saying it right, but it's not said as it's looks (least on entirely) O_o**

**Oh yeah…and I own none of the songs I mentioned before XD They all belong to the artists.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Nemo woke up to find herself on Altair-again, for the sixth time-and sighed, moving herself off of him. In doing so, she found herself about three inches away from the stone wall. It was still dark outside, probably only around four in the morning. She turned herself in the opposite direction and tried to daydream of things she would ordinarily do, like play videos games or write down ideas for stories. She heard Altair move into a different (probably more comfortable) position. It must have been hard for him to lay on his back for hours on end. Then Nemo realized that he was actually really thoughtful in doing so, for he was doing that for her, not even so much as moving her over a bit. He just let her lay there almost as if he couldn't do anything, but he could very easily just shove her aside. Nemo smiled and thought, I guess it's true; no act of kindness, big or small, ever goes to waste.

"Nemo, are you awake?" He asked.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm awake."

"We'll leave for Damascus in an hour."

"Eh? So soon?"

"With good fortune, we might be able to get there by sundown if we ride Seema."

"Okay." Nemo sat upright along with her friend, eyes feeling as if sand were prickling them. _Great, I'm still tired…well, I'd be a wimp if I asked to sleep in a little longer._

After having a couple pieces of fruit…and discovering that Nemo's stomach didn't like to put up with fruit after a few days…they walked out to the horse stables near the edge of the city. It was still dark outside, but the first rays of dawn came over the horizon. They mounted Seema and began to ride off to Damacsus.

* * *

Altair slowed down Seema as they came by a troop of soldiers that appeared to be from Acre. Altair and Nemo both put on a low profile, just pretending to be travelers from afar. It apparently worked since no one questioned them. There were odd looks…of course…but no trouble.

The sun's rays were being absorbed in Nemo's dark clothing, making her perhaps a little bit too hot. She didn't need to pant because she could sweat, but she surely just couldn't wait for Seema to run again and make the wind blow over them. For hours on end they rode, through small towns and past military campsites. It must have been somewhere in the late afternoon when something of 'troublesome features' did occur.

Seema couldn't be pushed anymore in this heat. She needed water and food and needed to rest. There was a lake nearby with piles of hay that provided for what the tired horse needed, so they stopped by there for a while. The water was actually blue and not murky like the pictures Nemo had seen.

Her and Altair rested in the shade of a tree, letting the horse graze and rest. Altair had his eyes closed and arms crossed while Nemo enjoyed the sight of the beautiful creature and the beautiful lake. She wanted to just leap into the waters and swim around, but she knew that she was not permitted to do so. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, remembering what it was like to have the cool water rush by her fur and to have the bubbles tickle her face. She was then startled when heard someone yell something in French she translated as "An assassin!"

They both jumped to their feet. Standing not too far away from them was a templar, dressed in white with a red cross and wearing a funny-looking metal helmet. He had his sword drawn and looked ready to fight, most likely kill.

"Nemo, back away." Altair said sternly and drew his own sword.

Nemo knew very well that the templars were always stronger than Altair, but definitely not faster. Now she had the urge to rip the templar's head off.

The templar attacked first, then it was a whole wave of clashing swords and throwing punches. Altair thrust his sword forward in an attempt to stab his opponent but the templar jumped back, then leapt forward and clashed his sword against Altair's. The templar tried swinging from the sides but Altair was too fast, always either dodging the attack, breaking it, or countering it. Altair's opponent then blocked the assassin's attack and threw his sword to the side. The assassin's death-grip on the sword weakened as it was thrown out of his grasp, his hand almost taken with it. Right, that was too close. Altair thought as he quickly pulled out his dagger. Upon drawing it, he diverted the templar's sword. A loud shing ran throughout the air followed by several other metallic noises. The templar had a break in one of his swings which allowed Altair to punch him in the stomach, sending him a good couple feet away. The assassin then drew his hidden blade and attempted to stab the templar in the neck, but failed as the man blocked the attack by grabbing onto Altair's hand.

"Um…Al-Altair?" Nemo said uncertainly. "We have a bigger problem."

Altair turned his head around while wrestling the templar, seeing a platoon of soldiers, all with their swords drawn.

"Nemo. Run." He said. He wanted them to avoid a fight because one of the last things that he wanted was Nemo killing all of them and then going into a mental breakdown. Or worse, what if she completely lost her mind and went for him? He wasn't even sure if he could fend off a creature like Nemo.

They both sprinted away, Nemo being faster. Altair remained behind her but then heard heavy footsteps. He realized that it was a horse.

Nemo turned around and saw that Altair stopped abruptly and ducked to catch the cavalryman off guard. The soldier didn't have enough time to grab onto him or swipe him with a sword, so he went on to Nemo.

"Bad choice, bucko." Nemo said with a growl as she started to charge toward the horse. She leapt in the air, altering herself into a wolf. As she glided over the horse, she bite onto the cavalryman's head, knocking him off the horse. Upon landing on the ground, there was a sickeningly loud 'crack' as she split his skull in two using her jaws. She let go of the now-dead man, baring her teeth. She put herself low to the ground, slowly approaching the soldiers. She was too focused on the platoon to notice that Altair had been backing up near the lake in order to avoid the oncoming bloodshed.

"Kill that thing! Kill it!"

Nemo began barking wildly at them. No one went after the other; they just continued waiting as the ferocious-looking wolf snarled and growled, sticky saliva dripping from her jaws. The fur on her back was ridged and raised towards the sky while her face wrinkled, showing her teeth and her gums.

The wolf decided that she had waited long enough. She charged after the soldiers, tricking them by jumping clear over their heads, causing them to swing their swords forward. When she landed, she bit one of the men in the liver, picking him up in her mouth. The man-still alive-screamed and tried with all his might to get free of the wolf's mouth.

The others backed up.

"You're at the mercy of the wolf," Nemo hissed, "And right now I'm not feeling very merciful." She gave him a jerk with her teeth, ultimately shutting him up for good. She let him drop to the sandy ground and rose her tail, pouncing on the nearest soldier, swiping his head clean off with her left paw.

There was a pain on her left hind leg as a sword cut the flesh. It alerted the wolf, causing her to turn sharply and bite the man's right arm. She swiped her head off to the side and tore it clean off, then knocked him to the ground. She crushed his chest with her hind paw and went to the next target. She dove low to the ground into order to avoid a sword, then started swerving left and right, using her tail as a balance. As she ran into a soldier, she fell to the ground, being tripped by with his mass. She quickly regained her stance and kicked him in the head with her paw, cracking his skull and neck. She started running and veered around a soldier to avoid injury. She subsequently used her claws to split both of the man's Achilles tendons, forcing him to collapse to the ground. She stood over him, ignoring the man's screams as she rose a paw and drove it through his heart, killing him almost instantly. Her yellow eyes focused on a man who began to run away from the entire scene in the hopes of avoiding death.

The wolf quickly caught up to him and pounced on his back. She bite him on the neck and thrashed him around until he was killed. She let go of him, her face wet and stained with blood. She saw Altair fighting about four men near the lake. He used his sword to stab one of the men in the stomach, then started blocking attacks from the other men.

The wolf barked and dashed towards them, biting one of the on the head, ripping his throat out. She wheeled around and killed off the other two, not even looking at Altair. She skimmed her eyes over the land and saw a man dressed in white running up a hill. She knew that the templar was running away from her; one thing you probably shouldn't do.

Nemo darted after him. He had looked back at her and saw that she was clearly much faster than he was. He jumped on a nearby horse and made the poor unsuspecting creature run at full speed. This only agitated the wolf as she caught up to him. She tripped the horse with her paw, causing the horse and the templar to fall to the ground. The unfortunate ungulate neighed loudly-almost screaming-and sent dust flying up in the air. The templar had quickly recovered from the fall and started to run in the opposite direction of the wolf.

She quickly caught up to him and was about to bite him from behind when he wheeled around, drawing his sword. Nemo was caught off guard and had the sword slice the flesh on her face. It surprised her, making her yank her head off to the side. She stood there for a while, a look of wild rage on her face.

"_Venir, la bête, et me tuer si vous pouvez_!" The templar yelled.

"Je ferai." Nemo said and lunged at him, only to have the templar drive his sword through the roof of her mouth. Nemo screeched in pain and backed away, shaking her head from side to side, unable to close her mouth. She did a coughing motion as if it would take the sword out. She then stopped moving and made her whole body ridged, staring straight at the templar. He was unmoving, expecting her to die. He was terribly wrong.

Without any other weapon, he was left open for a physical beating. The wolf rushed at her opponent again and started beating him to death to her paws. When he finally succumbed, Nemo backed away and looked over to Altair. He had seen everything that had happened and was running towards her, but then stopped in his tracks when she looked at him. Nemo approached the assassin slowly, still snarling.

She apparently got to close for comfort to him. Altair began to back away, sword in his hand.

Nemo loosened her face and body and panted heavily. She whimpered louder and louder to let him know she was in pain. She wanted that sword out of her mouth, and right now he was the only one who could do so.

Altair recognized the noise and took a few steps closer. Now the wolf was just standing there with her head low to the ground, looking at him with eyes that clearly said 'help.'

He bent down next to her and put a hand on the tip of the sword that had gone completely through her skull. He then grabbed the hilt of the sword and roughly yanked it out. Nemo screamed in a wolf version and squeezed her eyes shut, still whimpering. She felt a hand on her right shoulder and let the blood drip from her mouth and to the ground. She didn't look at Altair, just continued standing there. Her entire head throbbed from the injury.

"You're not dead." Altair said. Nemo said nothing as he stroked her fur in order to help cease the pain. Nemo was strong, but the pain was too much for her to bare. She blacked out and collapsed on her side.

Nemo woke up laying on her side. To put it plainly, she looked dead. The blood on her fur had crusted over and now felt as if it was tugging on her. The pain in her head had subsided and was just a slight soreness. She found that she was laying in the shade of a tree on a patch of grass. There was a figure behind her that walked in front, eventually kneeling down beside her. Her vision was blurry and distorted but her nose recognized the scent (or stench); Altair. She felt a hand stroke the soft fur on her neck.

It took most of her strength to roll over onto her underside. Upon doing so, some of the pain returned. It seemed to have lessened with her mouth slightly open so she did just that. She heard a voice but it was mixed in with a terribly loud noise inside of her own ears. She closed her eyes as the annoying noise caused the headache to grow worse. She then realized that it had been ringing but it was dying down, allowing her to hear a human voice.

"Nemo, are you alright?"

"That better be a rhetorical question." Nemo said back.

"Do you remember what happened?"

There was a silence for a while.

"Yes, I remember, but did I hurt you?" She asked.

"No, you didn't hurt me."

"That's all I want to know." She laid her head back on the ground, sighing.

"Nemo, how did that not kill you?"

"I'll explain later. Now shut up, I have a migraine."

* * *

After waking up again, it had been dark outside. She felt something warm on her, almost nestling her. She then realized that Altair was asleep, sitting upright against the trunk of a tree with the wolf's upper half on his lap. He had one arm underneath her neck and another over her shoulder to keep her warm from the coldness of the Middle-Eastern night. Apparently he didn't know that Nemo's fur was thick enough for the night, but he wasn't around wolves at all. He wouldn't know that.

Nemo felt tears come to her eyes when remembering the men she slaughtered. She took in a quavering breath and felt herself shift back into a human, awaking Altair.

Nemo hugged her arms over herself and kneeled forward into Altair's chest, each breath unsteady as more tears came to her. Altair wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she trembled and cried. "I didn't want to kill them," Nemo sobbed. "I didn't mean to…." Altair put his hand up to the back of her head and stroked it softly.

Nemo grasped the cloth on his chest tightly as she wept loudly. Her face was hot with tears.

Altair knew that he couldn't console her with his words; he wasn't really any good at that, anyways. Rejecting her right now would be a mistake. The only way how he could prevent her from a full mental breakdown would be to just hold her close and let her cry. It wasn't exactly her fault, anyways. Sure, she killed them all, but Altair figured out that it was a survival instinct. She was frightened and felt rage so she attacked, and when they're dead, they're not going to attack and threaten them ever again.

Eventually, Nemo calmed herself down but didn't let go of Altair. She continued to cling to him, not willing to let go. She had been having too much trouble trying to cope with herself to realize that her clothes were missing.

Once she fell asleep (again) Altair took off his robe and covered Nemo in it, setting her down gently on the ground. It was going to be difficult in looking for the clothing articles through the night's darkness, especially considering the fact that they were already dark colored. Despite that, he did manage to find them, and surprisingly, the shirt was somehow not ripped. He had looked at it curiously; it was if she had taken it off but he didn't see her do so.

He walked back over to the sleeping girl and set the clothes down beside her. She looked so frail and innocent just laying there, asleep, most likely lost in dreams of running through the wilderness.

He picked her up gently and sat down against the tree, putting an arm around her to support her weight in a comfortable position. He then brought his other arm around and locked his fingers together to not only keep her warm but to keep her in place better as she leaned on him. Nemo's going to have difficulties with certain things when she's older, He thought to himself and closed his eyes. He honestly felt sorry for Nemo.

But he didn't even know the half of it.

* * *

Nemo opened up her eyes and found herself up against Altair. She felt his arms gently around her and looked around with her eyes. "Hey, are you awake?"

"I've been awake."

She sighed and sat upright, moving his arms off of her. "Can we go? Like, now?" Nemo asked impatiently as she put a hand up to forehead.

"Get dressed first."

"Wha-" She noticed that she had his robe wrapped around her like a blanket. She quickly grabbed onto it tighter and brought it up a little higher on her chest. _Please tell me he didn't see anything explicit!_ "Where are my clothes?"

He tossed a bundle over to her.

"Turn around, close your eyes, do something," She said as she hastily put her clothes back on. _Gosh, this is so embarrassing. My face must be flaming red…or at least it would be…that's right, my face doesn't turn red. Unless if it's a sunburn, then- _Nemo began to think random thoughts to herself, one of them including The Beatles and Harry Potter.

After she was dressed, Altair stood up and turned to her. He was about to say something when Nemo cut him off.

"Thanks…and I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"…Everything. I just…" She shook her head and sighed, trying to find the right words.

Altair stopped himself from saying anything and instead just turned around to Seema and mounted her. Nemo grabbed her backpack and climbed on the ungulate. "Let's just get there as soon as possible." She said as she grabbed around her friend and put her head up against his warm back. "I wish that this never happened."

"To us, it didn't. _Hiyah_!" He urged Seema forward, now running at full speed.

* * *

The entrance to Damascus was full of merchants and people, loud with their voices and from the hustling and commotion. Unfortunately, no crowds of people were flowing from in or out of the city, which was going to make it difficult for Altair and Nemo to get inside.

Nemo waited in a crowd as Altair strode up to a nearby soldier. The soldier said something to him-or was about to-when Altair stabbed him in the stomach with his hidden blade, pretending to hug the man (that's honestly is what it looked like). Nemo hurried up with Altair as the soldiers guarding the front gates of the city left to investigate the suddenly fallen soldier. As if they didn't notice the blood….

"That was a success." The werewolf said, but got no response.

They walked alongside each other through the busy streets as they made their way over to the Assassins Bureau. Once they came across a ladder, they both climbed it. Going by the rooftops would be easier and faster.

They both bounded from rooftop to rooftop, Altair being in the lead. Once they came across a wooden rooftop, they jumped down through the opening. Altair landed on his feet while Nemo had to roll and tumble forward…almost hitting the wall. She quickly recovered herself and pursued him into the adjoining room.

"Rafiq," Altair said.

"Ah, Altair. I got a bird saying that you would arrive with a person named Nemo." He said, looking at Nemo. "Hm? I thought that Nemo was a young man."

"Eh? Man?" She blinked at him. "I'm a girl."

"Oh, my apologies, I was just assuming. I can clearly see that you are a young woman, I mean no offense."

"Ah, people do that all the time." She said and scratched the back of her arm.

"So, on a different topic, who is it you seek now, Altair?"

"A man named Tamir. Do you know anything of him?"

_Okay, that was weird, I thought that Tamir was the first guy on the list, and I met Altair in Jerusalem. Maybe it doesn't matter what order it goes in?_

Rafiq proceeded to tell him of certain places where to go; a mosque and…two others places that Nemo couldn't understand because he said them in Arabic. Just great…Nemo decided to just follow Altair.

"You know, if you need to pickpocket someone, I can always track them down as long as you have something of theirs." They just looked at her oddly. "What I mean is that, if there's a specific person your after for information, if you have an article of clothing he's worn or something else like that, I can track him down."

"I do have a piece of clothing from another assassin who might be able to tell you something." The Rafiq said. "But may I ask, why a piece of clothing?" He began to rummage around in the back.

"Dogs can smell about ten times better than any human. If I recognize someone's scent, I can't ever forget it, so if he walked somewhere, I can follow where he once was because his scent would leave a trail."

Altair just looked at her oddly, making her frown.

"Alright, scientifically; everywhere a person walks, they leave something called a scent trail. Canines can follow that trail as long as there isn't water interfering with it, because the water washes the scent away. Understand?"

"Frankly? No." Altair replied.

"Maybe I'll explain in further detail later."

"Aha, here it is." The Rafiq tossed her a piece of cloth. "He came here this morning and left this here. If it is of any use to you…?"

Nemo sniffed the cloth. "Whew…he smells three times worse than Altair."

The Rafiq laughed while Altair just frowned.

"Where I come from, if someone's missing, they'll use dogs to find that person. They let them sniff something from whoever it would be and then they're told to 'seek' out of the person. It works every time." She threw him back the piece of white cloth and went into the other room.

"If you planning on being a dog again, I suggest you don't." Altair said.

"I'M A WOLF, GODDAMMIT! And apparently you don't know. I can change how big I want to be. What you've seen so far is my full and regular height. I'll go to the height of a normal wolf and no one should freak out." She sighed and took off her clothes, leaving them in the corner. She turned into a regular-looking wolf excluding the fact that she had black triangles underneath her eyes.

"What do you mean by 'being a dog?'" The Rafiq asked.

Altair paid no attention and joined in with Nemo, running up the wall with her.

Upon landing on the ground, Nemo looked up at Altair. She was used to being about as tall as him as a wolf, but now she had to crane her neck upwards to look at him. She was probably only up to waist.

"Will this really work?"

"He came this way earlier today, so I should be able to find him easily." The wolf put her head to the ground and padded through the streets, the assassin right behind her.

It probably took about thirty minutes for her to find him, leading them to a tree where a man dressed in white stood. She looked up at her friend.

Altair just looked at her.

"This is also one of the reasons why you can never hide food from a dog."

He smirked behind his hood and walked up to the other assassin.

The man talked to Altair for a while. Apparently he screwed up and now had two men after him and couldn't go out and get them himself. _Of course, I remember these. Some of them were real pains, especially when they were timed._

"So, what?" Nemo said. "You go after one and I go after the other?"

"Nemo, you…" Altair began to say. "…can do that."

"I won't cause a stir. I'll be a blur of grey and black, to be specific."

"Meet me back here."

"Excuse me, Altair, but who are you talking to?" The man asked.

"Me, of course. Can't you hear me?" Nemo said, then turned around and began to trot away. _I know what they look like. They look like templars, right? If I'm lucky, then maybe I'll be able to catch one in an alleyway._

She walked around the streets for about fifteen minutes until she saw a man who appeared to looking for someone. He didn't look exactly like a templar, but he looked similar to one, enough so that she knew he was her target. She followed him closely until he made a right turn between too buildings. She too turned around the corner. It was a small alleyway, and dark, now if he just turned left, they'd be completely out of view from the streets.

Finally, fortune was on her side and he did turn left. "Hey, you!" Nemo said and spread her front legs out slightly, head low to the ground. The man turned around but said nothing. "I heard that you were after one of my friends." He looked down at her. "I don't like that. What? Think I'm not real?" She began to run towards him but saw that he had drawn his sword. She went right and ran sideways across the wall, landing him as he swung his sword forward. She then pounced on his back and hesitated, saying, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." She bit him on the neck, hoping that no one heard him scream. The wolf let go of him and lifted his helmet off his head, rolling him over. She licked him twice on the right cheek, saying, "You were going to kill someone…I'm sorry, but I had to stop you. This was the only way I could. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please forgive me…." She stepped off from over him and ran up the building wall. She leap from rooftop-to-rooftop until she got back to the other assassin. Altair was already there, waiting for the wolf to return.

"So you beat me, huh? I had to apologize to him…he won't forgive me…." Nemo hung her head low. "I hope I was of help to you."

"Embrace the remorse, Nemo." He said and turned to the informant.

"Okay, here is what I know…"

* * *

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?" Nemo asked. Altair was sitting down on a bench to not rise any suspicions.

"Walk over to those two men over there. Listen in on their conversation. I'll do the same. Just don't get too close."

"I can do that." She padded her way over to the two men that were conversing with each other. _I suppose that four ears is better than two._

"Ugh, filthy mutt." One of the men said and attempted to shoo her away. _Alright, too close._ She backed up a bit and laid down on the ground. Nobody would suspect her.

"Yes, I have the letter."

"Good. Now you know where to bring it to. I trust that you won't get caught, alright?"

"I will not let you down. You can trust me whenever."

"Good. Not hurry along and don't get cocky." The two departed.

_Huh? I don't remember a conversation like this before,_ Nemo thought. _Oh crap. I hope that things won't go in a different direction than the game. _She trotted back over to Altair. "I'm sure you heard that."

"Stay here."

"Will do so." It's not like Nemo had opposable thumbs at the moment. The only thing she had to worry about was someone realizing that she was a wolf and attempted to kill her. Not that she would die, but when someone stabs a creature in the chest with a sword and it doesn't die, chances are they're going to know that something's up. Perhaps if she just sat there and panted then no one would say or do anything.

A few moments later and Altair returned.

"What's the letter about?"

"I don't know. I'll read it once we get back." Altair quickly noticed the strange glares that he was getting from people nearby. To them, it must have looked like he was just talking to a dog.

Altair took the lead and walked around the busy streets of Damascus, noticing that there was a large gathering of people around a single man up on an elevated stage. He was saying something about Tamir and his 'way to guiding us to the light.' Altair gently pushed his way through the crowd and closer to the speaker. He kept on a low profile and listened closely to the man. Once he was finished speaking, the man got off the stage and the crowd began to disperse. Altair tailed behind him and followed him until he went into an alleyway. After a few seconds of making sure that no one else was around, he picked up his pace and grabbed the man by the collar of the shirt. He punched him in the stomach twice and then in the face, now engaged in a fistfight.

Nemo backed away as Altair beat the stuffing out of the man. _Altair is so powning this guy right now,_ Nemo thought. Eventually, he gave in and went down on his knees. "Tell me," The assassin ordered sternly, "What does Tamir plan to do with the weapons?"

"The weapons? I don't know what you are talking about."

"Speak to me or speak to God."

"Alright, alright. There was a large order or weapons sent to Acre. However, he is steadily growing impatient, for his men are not working fast enough even though they are at their full capacity."

"Why Acre?"

"I do not know, but he is in an alliance with a man from there. I do not know his name. May I be free now?"

Altair seemed to have almost laughed. "And risk me being caught?"

"I will not tell anyone, I swear."

"No…you won't." Altair pulled out his hidden blade and thrust the metal into the man, backing off slowly as his target fell to the ground, dead.

Nemo trotted up next to him. "Now that we're in the alley, maybe you could read the note…unless of course if you don't want to risk somebody seeing the body, then that would be really bad of course, but ei-"

"Nemo," Altair said. "You talk too much."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to annoy you." Somehow, she got the feeling that he was smiling…or at least smirking.

Altair took out the letter and read it silently. "It tells where the weapons are going, but we already know that." He read down a little further. "Tamir will be at the marketplace tomorrow morning. We'll leave then." He put the letter back in his pack.

"Sounds like a plan." Nemo followed him up the wall and back to the Assassins Bureau.

The sun began to set as they both landed at the bureau.

"Ah, Altair. What news, my friend?" One thing that Nemo liked about this Rafiq was the fact that he was always nice and kind-sounding and didn't berate Altair or talk to him in a negative tone.

Alter proceeded to tell him of Tamir and his plans. The Rafiq gave him a feather-which Nemo never really quite understood-and told him to rest until tomorrow morning. As if he wouldn't….

Nemo walked up to the Rafiq and stood up on her hind legs, putting her front paws on the counter. "So what are you? A pot-painter or something like that?"

"Yes, I am. That and I-wait…when did a dog get in here?"

"I'M A WOLF, YOU FAGGOT! I mean…I'm with Altair."

"Altair, get in here!"

Altair did so.

"Since when did you have a dog?"

"She is not a dog. She is a wolf."

"You know very well that…wait. Explain to me what's going on. Where is that girl that came here with you?"

"This wolf is her."

"This…wolf?" He pointed at Nemo.

"She's a werewolf, a shape shifter of sorts. That's what I meant earlier by 'being a dog.'"

"But it spoke to me, how is that possible?"

"She is not an 'it.'" Altair said sternly…and sounded quite exasperated. "Her name is Nemo. If you don't believe me, that is fine. I cannot tell how she speaks. She has told no one as of yet."

"Dude, quit freaking out." Nemo said. "It's totally uncool."

"Nemo, come." Altair said and motioned with his head to come, walking into the other room.

* * *

"I honestly can't eat another piece of fruit." The now-human Nemo stated.

"Either you eat the fruit or you eat nothing." Altair said.

"I think I'll go with nothing. Fruit is acidic and if I have too much of it over a certain period of time then the acid begins to burn at my stomach. It can cause stomach ulcers. Not a pleasant experience." She looked over to the wall. "I'm not really hungry anyways."

"Nemo," He said. Nemo turned to him…only to have a piece of bread thrown at her. She barely caught it and said,

"Hey, what the hell was that for?"

"I'm sure that bread isn't 'acidic.'"

"Oh, well…thanks." She bit into the bread.

One thing that Nemo noticed was the fact that Altair was speaking more. Just in general, but he was speaking to her. Maybe it was because they were with each other almost constantly, maybe it was because Nemo talked a lot when there was nothing else to do. Or maybe Altair actually does care about her in a sense that he could have conversations with her on his own freewill. He wasn't selfish; if he was, he would have pushed her off of him when they slept and wouldn't have given her the piece of bread. He wouldn't have held her close to him when she went into a mental breakdown and wouldn't have kept her warm during the nights. He was generous in his own sense, kind in his own sense. Why that was so was beyond Nemo. Altair is like a brick wall, you just can't seem to get through him. Either way, she deems him as a friend now, and to her, that's what's important.

Or maybe he was just beginning to open himself up more to someone. In the game, he always sort of kept to himself if it didn't have anything to do with a mission. He was always silent-and still is a silent man-but perhaps he was realizing that he could talk to someone…in this case Nemo…and could let her know things he would never tell other people, like how he felt. People just assume that he's a cold-blooded killer who cares for no one, they don't know it.

* * *

Nemo took out her phone and headphones. She started playing 'Last of the Wilds' and closed her eyes, sitting against the cool stone wall. She daydreamed of soaring overhead like an eagle as she listened to it and sighed, tapping her foot to the beat. Images of skies danced across the backs of her eyelids as the ocarina-like sound came into play. She relaxed her body and took in a large, quiet breath.

When she opened her eyes she saw Altair reading through Oninagi. He was leaning up against the wall with a smirk of amusement on his face. She paused the music and said, "Get to the funny parts yet?"

"Is Sanjouin's last name Senpai?"

"Senpai means upperclassmen, so they would call him Sanjouin-Senpai, and if I remember correctly, you would add 'san' at the end of teacher's names, like Hanni-San. At least…I think that's how it went. I could be wrong."

"Do they do that where you're from?"

"No, we just say mister, miss, or misses." She turned the music back on.

The next morning began rather normal. Nemo ate bread (she was going to wait about three days until she had another piece of fruit) and Altair had fruit…nothing out of the ordinary happened. Nemo felt nervous, though. Today, a man was going to be assassinated and she was going to witness it. She's killed people before so it confused her as to why she was so nervous now. Maybe it was the anticipation of it, like how when she used to give oral presentations in class. She would be excited and just couldn't wait to up and present, but at the same time she was nervous and hoping that she wouldn't get called upon. Right now was one of those moments…except it was the real deal of life and death.

Why was Altair bringing her along, anyways?

* * *

**6,515 words, 16 pages. Not too bad. I was originally going to put the assassination of Tamir in this chapter, but I figured that the people wouldn't like it would start to drool and be like, "This is too long!" So I'll put in the next chapter, which should be up in a week or so. Maybe less.**

**If I got the whole senpai-san thingy wrong, please correct me XD I only have limited knowledge on such a thing…and they're all from the mangas that I've read.**


	5. Secrets

**Um…I don't really have anything to say. Enjoy?**

**Oh yeah, there's a lot of dialogue in this so if you hate dialogue, sorry! I plan on having Nemo and Altair bond a little bit more.**

* * *

Nemo climbed up and over the wall with Altair. They said nothing as they began to run across the rooftops to where Tamir would be. The nervousness still hung in Nemo's stomach…and probably would stay there for a long time. Altair had given her strict orders; basically 'stay close' and kill anyone after them if there's no other choice.

They both landed on the ground and blended in with the crowds. Within about thirty minutes, they were both standing in a small, circular plaza with a small pool of water in the center with a few palm trees and a strange-looking awning. People were walking through the plaza while others sat down in the shade on the benches to rest. Everything seemed normal except when a white-haired man dressed in red with a sword on his hip came into view, speaking to a man. Altair and Nemo drew closer, knowing that the man was indeed Tamir. As his voice grew louder, Nemo began to get the feeling that something really wicked was going to happen.

"I am sorry, but my men are working as fast as they can. It's just that your order is so much, and the destination…it is a difficult route."

"Are you accusing me?" Tamir bickered loudly with the man. The other man wasn't showing any aggression, but he probably no idea what a mess he got himself into. "If only you produced weapons as well as you produce excuses!" Tamir yelled at him as he drew his dagger. The other man was now attempting to defend himself with his words. He mustn't have seen the mss he got himself into. "I gave you everything! Took you off the streets! And this is how you repay me?"

Nemo went closer to Altair and grabbed onto the sleeve of his robe. "No, please, I meant to disrespect," the man said and began to take a few steps back. Tamir rose his dagger and swiped it at the man, cutting the flesh on his face. There were gasps of surprise throughout the audience. The man had a surprised visage and said, "No please, stop!"

"Stop? Haha, _I am just getting started_." Then Tamir began to attack him mercilessly, cutting him and stabbing him with his dagger. Nemo recoiled and pressed her forehead against the back of Altair's arm so that she wouldn't see as the man screamed out in pain and terror, yelling for help that was around him but not coming. When the screaming stopped, Nemo came out from behind Altair and saw the man's body halfway in the pool of water. The once blue water was now red with his blood.

"Let this be a lesson to the rest of you," Tamir said, "Now get back to work."

The crowd then began to disperse, mumbles floating among the voices.

"Stay here," Altair ordered and clasped his hands together to make it seem as if he were praying. He approached Tamir and walked behind him. Once he was close enough, he extended his hidden blade, but at the same time, a soldier yelled, "_Assassin_!"

"Oh, shit!" Nemo said as Tamir turned around and grabbed Altair. Altair drew his sword and fended Tamir off, nearly taking his opponent's hand off. As a soldier came up behind him, the assassin whipped around and knocked the sword out of the man's hand, then thrust his sword through the stomach. He quickly pulled it out, swiping his blade at the next man. They clashed swords together but Altair managed to deflect his opponent's blow. He cut the man on the neck, nearly decapitating him as he swung around. At the same time, a soldier grabbed onto him and practically threw him forward into a scaffolding. Altair felt a shockwave of pain on his wrist and shoulder as the whole frame came crashing down upon him.

"Stop…" Nemo said, her eyes shifting color as a scowl formed on her face. There was a _shlink_ as her claws came out. "…_THAAAT!"_ She roared, jumping forward just as she saw Altair scamper hastily out of the wooden heap in order to avoid behind stabbed with by a sword. He drew his dagger and pounced on the man, opening his neck with his dagger.

Altair grabbed a throwing knife and threw it in the air, hitting a man in the stomach. He collapsed to the ground, dead. The assassin then began to cut down each of his opponents with his sword in order to get to Tamir. He was surprised when there was a loud _boom_ and looked over in the direction of the noise. A man had just been thrown into a wall but was splattered against it, his insides spilling out as if he had been smashed by a giant rock. There was a scream as another man was sliced in half. Blood flew as the wolf threw a soldier up in the air and caught him in her mouth, shaking her head from side-to-side. She threw the man off to the right, hitting a group of three soldiers. Her face was bloody and filled with rage. How dare they do that to Altair!

Altair saw Tamir running away. He wouldn't be able to fight off a creature like Nemo and took the opportunity to flee while the beast was interested in fighting with the others. This was also a good chance for Altair to get him while there's no one else chasing him.

He began pursuing Tamir through the streets. This man was fast despite his age.

Tamir looked over his shoulder and saw Altair gaining up on him. The man took a right and ran up a wall, climbing his way to the top. Once on top, he sprinted from building-to-building, the assassin right behind him. He then accidentally misjudged a gap and had to stop in his tracks in order to avoid falling to his death. The jump was too far for him to make.

This was the perfect opportunity for Altair. He slowed down his pace and extended his hidden blade. "You've no where left to run," He said.

"No, you are wrong, child." Tamir said and drew his sword again. "My time has not yet come."

"We'll see about that soon enough."

"No, the good always triumph over the evil. That creature back there was a demon, perhaps a hellhound, disguised in human skin. Now I will slay this demon…_you_." He charged at Altair.

Altair dodged the charged attack and came up behind Tamir, clashing their swords together. The metal made scrapping noises as they were pressed up against each other.

"Tell me, _assassin_, why don't you change into a demon?"

"You are terribly mistaken, too blinded by your beliefs to see what you are committing is a wrongdoing. That was not a demon, but rather an angel."

"Ha, an angel?" He said slowly. "I will not be fooled by a demon's lies."

"Allow the other Arch Angels to have a say in that." Their swords slid off of each other.

They fought for a long time before Altair threw Tamir's sword out of his hand and lunged himself at him, drawing his hidden blade. He landed on Tamir's chest, wounding him fatally. He then put the man underneath his arms.

Tamir was utterly surprised and then muttered out softly, "Why, child?"

"You are a death-dealer, we must stop you from killing more innocents."

"Killing? We are merely protecting. Do you not see the carnage that is around us every day? We just wanted to bring peace to the lands."

"You will not succeed in bringing peace by bringing war." Altair said.

Tamir spoke to him more, convinced that he was the one doing the right thing. Then his eyes became distant and he passed away. Altair took out the feather and wiped it in his target's blood, putting it away in his pouch. Now he needed some way to get Nemo back…or at least snap her out of her 'episode.'

Altair ran back to the plaza…and was surprised by what he saw. Bodies laid torn and ripped apart, disemboweled, sliced into pieces and crushed. The whole plaza was full of blood and carnage that stained everything there. "This is bad." Altair said. Then his eyes caught red paw prints. He quickly followed the trail (he was baffled that some of the paw prints were on walls) as screams and fighting noises along with growls and barks became louder. When he turned a corner, he saw that Nemo was being practically overpowered by the soldiers. She had at least five men on her, trying to weigh her down. Part of Altair was relieved; he now knew that Nemo hadn't lost her mind and was on a rampage (which is something he feared she might do), but now she was in trouble.

Nemo ran into a wall and crushed two of the men on her, then rolled around on the ground and kicked the other three off.

Altair brought two fingers up to lips and whistled loudly. The wolf's ears perked up as she looked at him. She charged, practically running into Altair as the assassin jumped, grabbing on around her and mounting her as he would mount a horse.

He didn't need Nemo to tell him to grab onto her fur.

Nemo ran up a wall and dashed across the rooftop, loosing the soldiers rather easily.

It wasn't trouble-free to hang onto Nemo. She was a hell of a lot bonier than a horse and moved faster than one, also not to mention the sharp turns she took that would easily fling weaker people off.

Nemo leaped a good twenty-foot gap and landed on the next rooftop. She dodged and arrow and began to swerve from side-to-side, throwing the archers off. She barked loudly as she jumped over a roof soldier and continued to sprint away.

Up and down, up and down she went, each leap being a good twenty feet or so.

She looked over to a man probably about two hundred feet away on another building. He shot an arrow at Nemo but the wolf jumped and avoided it. She bounded down onto a smaller building and continued to move forward in the hopes of loosing the soldiers' sights for good.

Altair was having difficulty staying on Nemo. He had to bring his body into a semi-laying-down position in order to avoid being flung off by the wolf's movements. When she jumped, he would be pressed into her back, and when she fell, he went up in the air and had to stabilize himself by hanging onto her with more force. Thanks to Newton's Law, when she went left, he felt himself go right from the sudden change of direction. When she went right, he felt himself go left. But then after a while of Nemo running up and down the buildings, something clicked in his mind that if they weren't running for their lives, he would have actually enjoyed this, would have actually found it fun.

The wolf jumped down into a busy street (she had no other choice) and plowed her way through the people, jumping over then from time to time. She curved to the right and into the covered marketplace and leaped up to the wooden beams. She propelled herself forward by soaring from beam to beam over the people. Once she came out into the open, she jumped onto the nearest building. Small sparks flew as she caught herself on the vertical wall with her claws. She kicked her back paws a bit to get traction on the wall, then began to run up it. She veered from left to right again to dodge the guards that were on the rooftop, using her tail as a balance.

After a few more minutes of running, Nemo jumped down into an alleyway. She let Altair off of her and panted, pressing her body against the cool shaded wall. "We should've lost them by now."

Altair looked at her, then something glinted and caught his eye. "Nemo, you're-" He stopped his sentence when he noticed a sword was in her side.

Nemo turned her head to where he was looking at. "Oh. That sucks." She bit onto the hilt and yanked it out. "Oweeya, that hurt." She dropped the sword and looked at Altair. "Sorry, I know I wasn't suppose to leave the plaza, but there were so many guards and they were driving me out of that spot that I didn't really have much of a choice. Then they jumped on me and I freaked out and I tried to get them off and…niyah…you know the rest." There was silence for a moment. "You're not angry at me, are you?"

"I am not angry at you." Now he knew one thing that ticked Nemo off. "In fact, I wish to thank you."

"Eh? Thank?"

"You know for what."

"Oh. Well…you're welcome. I would smile, but this is the best I can do." She rose her upper lip, baring her teeth. She could have sworn that Altair was trying his best to suppress a laugh as he smiled in amusement. _Well, he smiled._ She thought to herself.

Nemo transformed back into a human after noticing that her clothes were still on (she stretched out her shirt the last couple of times) and walked out into the streets again. Hopefully no one would notice the blood that was on Nemo's side.

They both jumped down from above and landed in the Assassins Bureau.

"That was awesome." Nemo said and smiled to herself as she followed Altair into the next room.

"Altair. What news?"

"Tamir is dead. His shipments will no longer reach their destination." He showed him the feather.

The Rafiq's gaze switched over to Nemo. "I see that she has casualties."

"Me? Oh, this?" She looked at her side. "It's nothing, I'm fine."

With nothing else to do, they decided that they would leave for Masyaf tomorrow morning.

* * *

Nemo was reading through _City of Bones_ while Altair continued on _Oninagi_. She was unaware he averted his gaze for a split moment over to her.

"Nemo."

"Huh? Yeah?"

"You should change your hair."

"…" Nemo gave him a blank stare.

"People here don't typically have blonde hair, and after what happened today, you should cut your hair, most likely dye it. Soldiers will be looking for a young woman with blonde hair."

Nemo thought for a while. "Okay. Do you have any scissors?" _Hey, he called me a woman instead of a girl! Even I call myself a girl…_

"Any what?"

"Um…scissors?" She did a scissor motion with her index and middle finger. "Okay…I guess you use knives. I don't trust myself with sheers."

Altair frowned and stood up.

"Hey, I-" Nemo began, but was then interrupted.

"It's fine. Sit on your knees." Altair sat down behind her as Nemo did so. "How short?"

"Jaw-length would be nice." Her left eye twitched. _There goes three friggin' years of growing out my hair._

She felt Altair comb through her hair with his fingers for a moment, then straightened it gently. He took out one of his throwing knives and began to cut it. To Nemo, it didn't sound like how hair would be cut. She knew what it sounded like with scissors, but with a knife it was much different. Either way, she kept her back straight and didn't move one bit.

When the majority was off, Altair began to trim away the edges to make it straight. It took probably all but five minutes; much faster than any fancy hairdresser's place or barber shop. When he was finished, he piled the hair together and said, "How do you dye it?"

Nemo bent over and grabbed her backpack. She took out a few of the hair dyes and said, "You open it up and just…press it on the hair and slowly dye your way down. One pack goes a long way." She handed one over to him. She felt Altair grab some of her hair and straighten it again, applying the hair dye.

"Black?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's black. Don't ask why I had it in my backpack."

A few minutes later and Altair was finished doing the last strands of hair.

"This stuff stays on for a while, so get used to seeing me with black hair."

"How long?"

"Usually for three to five months, but seeing as to how people can't bathe as much as I could, it'll probably stay on for a year. Maybe longer."

"It looks good on you."

Nemo smiled to herself, but then the smile faded. "Are you saying that you didn't like my blonde hair?"

"No, I'm just commenting that I approve of this color."

"Yeah, you better." Nemo mumbled as she forced a twitching smile on her face. _This sucks. It just literally sucks._

After about twenty minutes of waiting for it to dry, Altair brought Nemo over to a nearby mirror.

"It better not look like a three-year-old cut my hair with a steak knife or I'll-" She looked at herself in the mirror. "…whoa." She looked at herself for a while. "You did a pretty good job." Surprisingly, he didn't even mess up. Her hair was leveled completely and there wasn't even a strand of blonde hair left. "Thanks." _See, I trust him with knives and sheers because he's good at using them. Me? Not a chance in the world._

Altair walked over to the pillows and the carpet, Nemo following him.

"Well, today was a crazy day." The werewolf said as she laid down next to Altair.

"You can jump far."

"I can go farther." She laid her upper half on his chest. They both sighed and closed their eyes, Altair bringing his right hand up to her back.

Nemo listened to Altair's strong heartbeat and thought to herself, _I've never had a friend like this before._ Not only could she hear it but she could feel it, too. A strong _ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump._ Eventually, his gentle breathing and rhythmic heart put Nemo to sleep. Not to mention the guy was like a furnace….

* * *

The ride back to Masyaf took about three days.

Altair and Nemo dismounted Seema and made their way up to the fortress. Nemo was chatting on about random things that had nothing to do with anything whatsoever. Altair just rolled his eyes at the talkative girl and paid no attention to her. People still gave both of them odd glares, but Nemo began to grow accustomed to it. Let them know that he had someone with him.

"Master," Altair said as he walked up to Al Mualim's desk.

"Altair. I trust you are successful?"

He showed him a bloodied feather, now crusted brown.

"And how did Nemo do?"

"Good, I guess. Four days ago it got pretty crazy…I went from being blonde to black, too." She put her hands behind her head and smiled.

Al Mualim examined her. "Hm. You are quite skilled with cutting your own hair, Nemo."

"Me? I didn't do it. Altair did."

He looked over at the assassin.

"Since Nemo had blonde hair she would have been very obvious, for the guards were looking for her." Altair explained.

"Things got hectic." Nemo shrugged her shoulders.

"Hmm, very well." Al Mualim then continued to tell both of them of a man named Garnier de Naplouse, located in Acre. Nemo of course had no idea where the heck Acre was, but she remembered it from the game well enough that she could probably find her way throughout the city once they arrived. For the time being, however, they would spend a few days in Masyaf to rest. Nemo was still slightly sore from all of the transformations, but she would just suck it up.

* * *

The duo walked out into the courtyard, planning on spending the remaining time watching brawls in the rink until dinnertime.

Nemo leaned against the fence with her arms crossed, watching a young man fight another student. They threw punches at each other and attempted to 'kill' each other several times, but both of them prevailed over the other…until one of them punched the other on the side of the face and knocked him to the ground, wooden sword hovering right about his neck. "I win." The man said as a small cheer from the audience began to uproar.

Nemo just smiled and stood up straight.

The instructor said something to the two men-probably a praising-and then everyone began to disperse. _Must be done with his lessons,_ Nemo thought and turned to Altair. "So…" She began to rock on her heels. "…now what?"

"Right as I was going to ask you for preferences."

"Chicken chase?"

"What?"

"A chicken chase. You get a bunch of chickens, set them free, and then chase them around."

Altair just looked at her.

"Me and the other dogs would do it a lot. It was actually a lot of fun. Bloody, but fun. We would also run after cows and bite onto their tails. They'd freak out and run all over the place, dragging us along, but it was a lot of fun. Then we ate the tails afterwards. They always taste better uncooked."

…_Cow tails for dinner…?_ Altair thought, amused by her tale. "All the chickens are in the kitchen. And they're headless."

"Course they'd be. It's not as fun to eat a chicken when it's dead. There's no sport in it." She noticed the smirk behind Altair's hood again. "What? Chasing chickens is really fun!" She followed him to wherever he was walking to.

After dinner, they went up to Altair's room. "-and then the deer would start running up the hills and we would chase them. I would run with the dogs as long as I could but then dog catchers would come and I couldn't rescue them…I lost a lot of friends, but I always managed to somehow find a way to get them out. As long as they weren't killed first, of course, but-" And so goes Nemo again…talking endlessly with her back turned as Altair changed into his sleepwear. When she turned around, the she first thing she looked at was his eyes. She never really did get a good look at them before, and now she realized why he would always keep up his hood up.

They were grey. Not light-blue 'grey,' _grey_ grey, and in a way just looked…different. Nemo knew that he had eagle vision, but she never expected him to have a darkened cornea color and extremely shiny eyes. Perhaps the whole 'eagle vision' thing is actually what made his eyes look so watery, but Nemo could tell that at the moment he was in normal vision. Now that she was curious, she wanted to know what his eyes looked like when he was using eagle vision.

"Hey, guess what? I found out a secret." Nemo said. _Okay, a totally lame start, but how else am I suppose to address this? 'Hey, you have eagle vision' I mean…he'd like…punch me in the mouth or something. Okay, maybe not literally, but-_

"Of what?"

"You have eagle vision, don't you?" _Please don't kill me. I'll be a good wolf._

Altair whipped around at her, but Nemo managed to keep her face straight. "Can't hide it from a werewolf, I suppose." _Okay, partially true._

Altair was about to say something, then set his jaw tightly.

"Is that why you keep your hood up so much?"

He said nothing as he placed his clothes beside the wardrobe.

"Tell me, what color am I? Blue? I shouldn't be red."

"Black." Altair said. "You're black."

"Black?"

"And I don't know why." He walked over to his bed and sat down on it. "Also, I see you as a wolf whenever I use eagle vision. It doesn't matter if you're yourself like right now or not."

"A black wolf?"

Altair put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall. "Though I prefer to not share my secrets with you unless we're willing to exchange."

_Is this guy serious?_ "Well…I suppose that I never really did tell you a secret of mine before. The werewolf thing was a biggie but that was something I had no chance in the world of hiding. But before I say something, can you show me what your eyes look like when you _are_ using eagle vision?"

Altair looked over at her. She saw his pupils suddenly dilate, taking up almost the entire iris. The edges of the iris almost formed into a diamond-like shape, the grayness somewhat blending in with the black. They reflected more lights from the outside, making parts of them shine with a whiteness to them.

"That's totally awesome." Nemo said with a smile. "Here's one thing of mine, and I know you well enough that I know you won't tell anyone else. Besides, it's not your business or mine, either. Well…I kind of lack something. An emotion, actually. Well, in a way I suppose it is. I…can't love."

"I find that ha-"

"I mean love as in how a mother would love her daughter, or how a wife would love her husband. I just…can't. I love someone like how I love you; a friend, and as the camaraderie grows, a friend soon becomes a close friend, then a best friend. That's how I loved my brother, Markoh."

"Why can't you?"

"I don't know why. It's just a weird thing. I mean, I've tried, I honestly have, but I just can't. Also, whenever I'm embarrassed, my face doesn't blush. Other people's faces would turn red, but mine doesn't. I actually really prefer it to be that way."

"My full name is Altair Ibn La'Ahad. It means 'the flying eagle, son of none.'"

"Son of none?" Nemo echoed. _I forgot about that! Oh gosh, I could just kick myself in the teeth right now._

"When I was eight years old, my home was invaded. My parents were murdered along with my five sisters and two brothers. My grandparents were slaughtered as well, and the same fate awaited my aunts and uncles. Everyone in my village was killed except for me. I was orphaned and alone and I didn't know what to do. Al Mualim was traveling and fortunately saw the destruction, finding me. He quit his journey and brought me back here to Masyaf, where he trained me to be an assassin."

"That's…terrible." Nemo said. "That's worse than terrible." _So he comes from a big family…and they were all killed. Gone. Forever._ "What did you do once you became an assassin?"

"I killed the men who killed my family."

"Even though you knew it wouldn't bring them back?"

He was silent for a moment. "Yes. I was fourteen."

_Gosh, that's my age._ "I, uh…as you know I had two parents, but they did _nothing_ for us. They neglected us and fought a lot with each other. They would leave without notice and do God-knows-what. My parents didn't raise me. They didn't care about us at all. My brother raised me. He was the one who first found out that I was a werewolf and he managed to conceal it for a long time. He did everything for me; took the place of two parents. When he was going to go to college…erm, secondary school…he was going to get an apartment and have me move in with him. I was going to live with him until I went to college."

"So Markoh was really your parent?"

"Yeah. Another secret of yours?"

"I love dogs."

"…" Nemo blinked at him as Altair just looked at her.

"I mean it. I've always loved dogs."

"Wasn't expecting that." Nemo imagined him with a litter of puppies, drowning in a sea of cuteness. Then she thought of Kernel Mustang from 'Fullmetal Alchemist' and his expression of, _I LOVE DOGS!_ _They're loyal and have to do whatever their master commands them to! Plus they don't come with a salary and don't complain!_ Nemo's left eye twitched.

"If you tell _anyone_ that I just told you that-"

"Don't worry, I'm not saying anything." She laughed a bit. "I guess it's a good thing that I'm a werewolf." She thought for a moment. "Oh, I uh…I can't have kids. Erm, children, as you probably say."

Altair shifted a bit to look at her better.

"When I was younger, I got really sick and I had to have surgery…and it involved removing the womb. I can't ever have a litter…ever. And I want to when I'm older, but it's impossible."

"I'm sorry." Altair said, a somewhat look of sorrow look on his face.

"Don't be, it's not you did anything." _I guess that we're sharing depressing secrets._ "Besides, I don't get periods, so there's a very positive side to that! I heard that they were all just bloody nuisances…literally." They both suppressed a laugh.

"I should have told you this earlier, but I can't swim."

_Oh yeah. I forgot. He's a friggin' badass assassin yet he can't even swim. I guess that you wouldn't really swim much I this area of the world, anyway._ "Oh, well…if you ever fall into a deep body of water, then I'll be sure to get you out. Oh! I never told you how I can speak with my mouth closed."

"Say it, then."

"It's not actually my _voice_ that's speaking. It's my soul that speaks. That's how werewolves are able to talk as a wolf."

"Proof that souls do exist, then."

"Indeed."

"I almost got flung off of you when you were escaping with me."

"Oh, that's no surprise. It could have been worse."

"I also strongly dislike beer and wine."

"Finally, you're the first guy I've met other than Markoh who doesn't like that stuff!"

"It's the thing that makes men drunk; one thing I definitely don't want to be."

Nemo leaned her back against the cool stone wall. "Um…hmm, what else is there?" She thought for a moment. She was surprised when she felt a hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair. "Hey!" She said and put her head into her shoulders.

"How many werewolves are there where you come from?" Altair asked and dropped his hand.

"Not that many. Tell me; have you ever seen an albino human before?"

"No."

"Well, just to throw the fact out there, you're a thousand times more likely to meet an albino human than you are to meet a werewolf." Nemo said.

"So you are rare, then?"

"Extremely. Werewolves won't die out, though. There's something called 'genes' and every single creature has them. Scientists where I'm from say that there's two types, but I figured out that there's actually three; recessive, dormant, and active, also called awakened. Recessive genes are the ones that generally don't show. Like say…you have black hair, chances are your parents had black hair. If you have blonde hair, then that means that some ancestor from many years had blonde hair. That recessive gene would be active within you. The active ones are the ones that show, like hair and eye color, or your body's shape. Then there's the dormant type; the type that recessive, but at the same time is active. Every single human being has a werewolf gene in them, but for practically the entire population, it's recessive and won't show. You can't do anything about it. Some people are born with the gene being dormant, which means that when they're older, they'll most likely become a full werewolf. However, sometimes it never awakens, but if that person ever had children, at least one of them would be a full-fledged werewolf. Or you could be like me; a werewolf from birth, with the gene fully awakened."

"So you've been a werewolf your whole life?"

"Yeah. In fact, the day after I was born my brother said that I turned into a puppy."

"So it was possible that even I could have been a werewolf?"

"Yeah, it was possible, but definitely not probable. Werewolves are so rare that's it's practically impossible to find them, and it's even harder to kill one."

"I've seen get injured in ways that should have killed you, but you seemed completely unfazed by it. Why is that?"

"It's because…there's only one way how to can physically kill a werewolf in combat…and you're probably the only person in the world who will hear what I'm about to tell you right now. The secret is to decapitate the werewolf, but that's almost impossible. Werewolves also die from usual things, too; dehydration, starvation, but not by physically injuries except for that one. You can even cut a werewolf in half and it won't die. There was a true story about a man who fought a wolf. He sliced her right in half, but she still got up on her front paws and lived to cut him down. Then she turned back into a human, then into a wolf again, and had a full body. That's just how it works."

"So you could get stabbed in the heart and you won't die?"

"Yeah. It's pretty cool, but really scary."

They were both silent for a while.

"I wanna go for a walk." Nemo said randomly.

"There is still daylight outside, and you have yet to see the gardens."

"Can we go now?" Nemo's invisible tail began to wag.

* * *

Altair walked beside the wolf, ignoring the strange stares that they were receiving, especially from the other assassins. It must have seemed extremely strange to see a gigantic wolf by his side.

Nemo averted her gaze over to a group of assassins as she took long strides with her legs. She knew that they were probably looking at the black triangles underneath her eyes, seeing as to how no other dog (wolf) would have such a thing.

The wolf stepped out onto the grass. "It feels so good to have grass underneath my paws again." She brought her head up into the air, sniffing it. She immediately smelt flowers of all different types, but none of them she recognized.

"The women typically stay in the gardens during the day," Altair said.

"Yeah, I smell them from here." She brought her muzzle to the ground and started to sniff a nearby bush full of red flowers. She leaped back when a bird out from a nearby tree flew out, surprising her. "It's nice out here." She explored the gardens a little more.

From up above on a balcony, a man stood next to a smaller man, overlooking the gardens. "Is that Altair?" He said and tried to get a better look. "Why is he with a mutt?"

"Make sure you don't call her that, Akrim," The smaller man warned, "She's a feisty dog. That rumor about her really being a wolf is true."

The larger man frowned. "That is no wolf…that is a _demon_, an imp. It's obvious, especially since it's with _Altair_."

"I believe that there is nothing wrong with it. I heard from another assassin that she was assisting him and the other assassins in great ways."

"I'm no fool," He said sternly. "That mutt _must_ be an imp. All of those stories of wolves killing and mocking people, yet he sides with one? Damn fool, it'll just kill him in his sleep. It's a false sense of security, it's attempting to lure us all in."

"What gives you these assumptions? She has caused no disturbances."

"No disturbances? _No disturbances_? I've seen what that demon is capable of doing, the carnage that it committed alongside the road. It's obvious; there's a reason why people call Altair the Angel of Death, and now he is with that _monster_."

"I don't know. Take a look at her now." He looked over to the wolf, who was currently standing in front of Altair. She licked him on the side of the face with her pink tongue-which his immediate reaction made him look like he had sprayed with water (he was quick to back away)-and then started laughing. It wasn't showing on her face, but it could be heard rather well as she wagged her tail.

"Don't ever do that again." Altair said and wiped the side of his face.

"Aw, come on, you're no fun. I'll just have to chase you around, instead."

And that's how she wound up chasing him around the garden.

Altair stopped by a rose push and panted. Nemo was breathless as well; she may have been faster than him, but he took a lot of sharp turns and often threw her off course.

"You're really fast." Nemo said as both of them recovered quickly.

Altair just smirked a bit at her.

"Think we should get heading back? It's getting a little dark out here."

"I agree." Altair said.

* * *

**About 6,236 words, 16 pages :D Tell me, are the chapters too long, too short, or just in the middle?**

**Ugh, this was a TERRIBLE chapter I can't believe how seriously bad this came out -_- I was expecting it to have a badass action-filled beginning but I use so many words and phrases over and over again...and this got really cheesy. I'm sorry guys, this is perhaps the worst chapter I've ever done V_V I hope I didn't disappoint anyone too much.**

**Alright…again, NO MARY-SUE. I'm just having them bond a little more, and the whole lick-the-side-of-the-face thing…well, for anyone who owns a dog, you're probably very familiar with getting licked by :D I don't know why Nemo did that, maybe she was just thanking him or something but Altair disapproved of it. XD Yeah, he would.**


	6. Animal Whisperer

**Hopefully this chapter will turn out better. That last one sucked v_v**

**I order to prevent myself from ranting, I ask anyone who reads this to help stop wolf hunting. It's just completely sick, there's no need to hunt a wolf, so leave them alone.**

**Oh yeah, and a head's up; I find this chapter to be rather choppy :\ In fact, it seems rather disorganized -_-**

**And by the way, 'Oweeya' is just Nemo's usual expression of 'ow' or 'ouch.' And the whole 'Go choke a lizard' is something I say every now-and-then which is basically the equivalent to get lost, take a hike, go take a long walk off a short pier, etc. Yeah, I know XD I got it from a voice actor mishap XD**

* * *

Nemo felt herself shaken awake as she was in the midst of a nightmare that any living being would have found to be profoundly horrifying and disturbing.

"Nemo, wake up." Altair said and roughly shook her thin body one more time in a not-so-feeble or gentle attempt to waken the slumbering girl.

She had a death grip on Altair's shirt, knuckles white from grasping it with far too much force, her face stained with tears. She must have been crying in her sleep as she dreamt about the men she had killed the previous days when Altair assassinated Tamir. The nightmare had been about them being reanimated from the dead, crippled and bloodied, screaming, _Why did you kill us? Why did you kill us?_ They had then attacked her, white bones showing with remnants and decayed flesh still lingering onto parts of the foul body, threaded and dangling towards the ground as they crawled through the muddy ground with maggots swarming over their bodies and in their empty eyes. When she tried to alter her body into a wolf, she couldn't, and all the while she had been screaming out Altair's name for help as the zombies proceeded to kill her.

She brought a hand up to her eyes and wiped her face clean of the tears. "Thanks," She said. "That was scary."

"You were saying my name."

"Yeah, well…I dreamt about zombies killing me and I was calling out for help." She put a relieved but still-bothered smile on her face. "Wait; I was talking in my sleep?"

"In a way, and you cried."

"That's embarrassing." She settled herself back down on the soft mattress. "I hate nightmares." She turned onto her other side as Altair switched positions. "Doesn't your back hurt?" She asked as she stared at the damp stone wall.

"Hm?"

"You're on your back for hours on end. Doesn't that hurt?"

"It gets uncomfortable, but I'm fine with it." He put an arm underneath the pillow and sighed, bringing his other hand near his clavicle.

_Funny, I used to sleep that way in my old bed,_ Nemo thought to herself and closed her eyes. Her face was still slightly wet, but she ignored it.

When she woke up again, it was bright in the room with rays from the beautiful and yellow sun pouring in through the small, glassless window. The warmth that should have been on her back was absent. Slightly confused, she flipped herself around away from the wall and saw Altair using a quill to write in something that she conjectured to be a journal.

"Did I sleep in?" Nemo asked.

"Yes. In fact, the sun has been up for two hours. Thankfully, I haven't written anything in my journal for a long time."

"So I see that you've been preoccupied," She sat upright, immediately noticing that she was sore. "Oweeya…" She brought her hand up to her right shoulder and rolled it around in circles. "…ugh, I knew that I would hurt in the morning, but I thought that it would be better by now." She swung her legs over the bed and stretched her arms despite the pain, checking to make sure that her half-gloves were on tight enough.

"You must have had journals where you're from, correct?"

"Yeah, we did. One of a person's most private objects. I would _never_ look into a journal, even if I absolutely hated that person's guts with a fiery passion."

"Good." Altair continued to write.

…_She truly is an odd young woman. She certainly does not hesitate to fight back and becomes ferocious whenever provoked. The wolf truly is feisty, and she is not afraid to protect herself. She even drenched me with water because I simply called her a 'dog.' The other assassins have asked me 'why not fight her in the rink' but I know much better. We would both loose, for she is strong and quick, but I am, as well, but she wouldn't give me the chance to fight back, so I would be dodging the entire time. This is no ordinary young woman by any means, not even the closest trait of normality is within her. I've seen what she's capable of doing. Her methods of killing others are so gruesome, terrible, and outlandish that I will not dare to write it down. I will not tell her this, but even though I like this wolf, she frightens me. I have never been frightened by anyone after my family was murdered, but Nemo doesn't just frighten me; she _terrifies_ me. But that is only when she looses her mind, but even when she does so, she does not attack me. I do not understand why that is so._

_She told me that she loves me. Not like how a woman would love a man, no; hers is different, simple but complicated at the same time. It is the love between a friendship, an inseparable bond, a strong connection between wolf and man. Such a relationship has existed for thousands of years but I never believed it to be true. She killed at least twenty well-trained soldiers all because one threw me into a scaffolding. I saw her crush their bones like how a child would crush a berry, use her claws to cut flesh so cleanly that not even a butcher's knife could possibly compare to it. Did she mean to become outraged, or was she really angry at all? Was this her form of protection?_

_She is dangerous. _Extremely_ dangerous, but I know that she will not hurt me. I cannot say so for the other assassins. I said that I am frightened by her, of which I truly indeed am only at certain times, but she is so complex. When she is herself I am not frightened, when she is a wolf I am not frightened (saying 'herself' may indeed be inaccurate, for I am not quite sure if the wolf is her true form or not), but when she becomes angry and begins killing others, I find her terrifying. Large, white teeth gleam in the light with red eyes fixed on a target, heart set on murder as she slices her enemies. Everyone should know that if they attack her, she'll kill them without hesitation. It is only a natural reaction, such as how a frightened cat would scratch a man._

_But despite all of this, Nemo is a very kind person and she has does many things for me. She is pure of heart, but her heart cannot be tamed. Not even I would able to even remotely domesticate that wild, fiery, fierce heart of hers that has teeth of it's very own, biting at anyone who does something she truly does not approve of. Even throughout that, her heart is compassionate. She even continues to wear these strange half-gloves because she wishes not to hurt me. She did, in a very bizarre and extremely obscure way, protect me. Her kindness is definitely no weakness to her, but how is it that she understands me so well? For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm actually with someone that I can call a friend. I discovered that I can talk to her. I trust her because I've already told her many of my secrets. Some I do not wish to share, as I am sure that she does the same as well, but perhaps it is better that way._

_I still have much to write of this wolf, but that will have to wait for later times, for she has recently awoken and I am sure she is hungry._

"So you've been writing for three hours straight?"

Altair did a _mmm_ noise; most definitely a 'yes.'

Nemo stood up stiffly, putting her right hand on her hip as she groaned. "This just sucks."

* * *

Nemo sat down next to Altair and glanced at the pork in front of her. "We usually had some type of pastry-muffin-grainy thingus for breakfast. Sometimes eggs and ham or…something like that…but never a whole pig." She continued to talk about a strange food called 'pancakes' and how they were apparently the only food that she was good at cooking, but didn't know the ingredients. How that was even possible was beyond Altair, but he listened to her nonetheless.

From behind her, she heard someone say,

"Hey, that's Nemo. I heard that she's really a dog. Wow…she is a lot shorter than I thought she was."

Nemo's left eye twitched as she quickly stood up. She turned around and began to march up to the men, about to punch them in the mouths until she felt Altair grab onto her collar and yank her back. The two men saw the quick movement and took a couple surprised steps backwards as gazes were turned towards her and Altair.

Nemo flipped them off with her middle finger and said, "Screw you, assholes!" She sat back down. "Alright, calling me a dog _and_ a shrimp is a little bit overboard."

"I believe that I did not hear 'shrimp.'"

"Go choke a lizard."

In reality, Nemo _was_ rather short. The top of her head only came up to Altair's shoulder when she was standing up straight. More often than not, people would mistake her for a fifth grader when she was indeed enrolled in eighth grade, going into ninth once September came. Or at least she _would_ be. That could also be the fact that she was almost completely flat-chested. To just say it plainly and truthfully, she only halfway fits the smallest version of a size 'A' bra. The only reason why she actually _wore_ a bra was because everyone else did so, and it was a sports bra, as well. That was something she didn't plan on telling anyone any time soon (because it's just plainly awkward and uncomfortable to talk about). Only Altair knew about that-which was definitely completely embarrassing and just downright weird-so she decided to keep that way.

And so did he.

* * *

"Alright, bring this over to Mia…got it. I hope I remember where she lives…it's been about two weeks or so. Maybe less? How long have I been here?" Nemo asked herself as she carried the basket on her shoulder. It felt a little strange to not be walking beside Altair, but it also allowed herself realize that she hasn't been alone for quite a while. She did, in a way, need a break from being with someone all the time. She started reciting the lyrics to several songs she knew, making sure that no one else passing by would hear her. It'd be bad for them to hear to say 'I'm on a highway to hell.'

"Mia! You here?" She asked as she walked through the blue cloth covering the entryway. "Mia? Hmm…I don't think that I should just barge in like this…" She said to herself quietly as she began to recede to the front door.

"It is alright, dear," Mia said and came out from a doorway.

"Oh, hi! I was told to bring you this basket. I don't know what's inside of it though," She set the basket on the ground.

"Thank you…Nemo, was it?"

"Yeah, that's my name." She gave her a friendly smile. "Oh, and I was also told to give you this." She dug out a letter from the depths of her pocket and handed it to her. "Don't worry, I didn't open it."

Mia took it and examined it, saying in her usual slow and monotone voice, "You have done a fine job. Report back to whoever sent you."

"Uh, okay, I guess. Bye." She left and began to skip her way back to the fortress, thoughts randomly coming to her mind.

As she strode into the kitchen, she said, "Zahrah, I'm back…wherever you are." She glanced about the gigantic room full of busy women creating all sorts of dishes. Several of them worked at the counters, rolling and kneading heavy clumps of bread. Others were cleaning dishes hastily, wetting their clothes and others that passed by from the splashing of the water. Others were grinding spices of all sorts and applying them to the foods and dishes, completely engrossed in their duties. A few were doing the 'dirtier jobs' which involved plucking the chickens and scaling the fish along with gutting some of the other animals. Some assorted the fruits onto gigantic platters, all of them working at what seemed to be their full capacity. Nemo would have personally hated having to work in something like this everyday, but she figured that it was rather customary for the time that she was in. Also, she knew that the women led good lives, or at least were a hell of a lot better than the lives that they would have been leading if it weren't for the brotherhood.

She slowly made her way around the other women, looking for a tall, middle-aged woman wearing a red dress that was outlined in a golden lace. She was startled when there was a loud 'crash' followed by an abrupt squeal. She quickly turned in the direction and saw a small boy, probably not even nine years old, on the ground, covered in flour with fruits scattered about all around him along with a fallen basket. The worked ceased for a moment, attention averted to the boy, then quickly resumed with the regular hustle and bustle.

"Hey, are you alright?" Nemo asked in a concerned voice as she knelt down beside him. The young boy had dark-colored skin with dark-brown, scruffy hair, face and clothes covered with whiteness from the flour. "Here, let me help you up." She extended a hand to him. The boy took it, then wiped a tear from his face. He was trying his hardest not to cry. _He's so young…I wonder if he's an orphan, too,_ She thought to herself. "Hey, it's alright. It was a mistake, right? We all make them sooner or later. In fact, every single person you see has made a mistake at one point or another. In fact, even Altair has, if you know who he is." _Actually, Altair seriously screwed up so badly that even _that's _an understatement. _He looked up at her and wiped his eyes again. "It's fine. I'll even help you clean up." She gave him a friendly smile in an attempt to make the boy feel better about the accident.

The boy smiled widely and said, "Thank you very much, ma'am."

"Any time. Um…I don't know where the brooms are, but I can pick up the fruit."

"Okay. I'll be right back." He beamed, quickly making his way to wherever the brooms were held. He came by and began to sweep up the flour as Nemo started to collect the fruits.

"What kind of fruits are these?" She asked, inspecting a strange yellow-orange fruit about the size of an apple.

"Those right there are figs, the fuzzy ones are peaches, and those are-" He said a whole list of fruits that Nemo couldn't recognize, such as apricots, chickpeas, leeks, and parsnip. Others that she did recognize were peaches, apples, almonds, and a few that she had seen before but didn't know the names of. "Anyway, my name's Jafar. What's yours?"

"I'm Nemo."

"I've heard things about you. People say that you're short."

"Aw, come on, are you serious?" Nemo said in a bummed-out voice.

"Also, the other women say that you're a dog! Is that _really_ true?"

"I'm actually a wolf, not a dog." She smiled at him again. "But yes, it's true. I'll show you someday." She picked up the last of the fruits and set them back in a basket. _Do they believe in the three-second rule, even though it's completely wrong?_

"Ah, Nemo." A voice said. Nemo looked up from where she was and saw Zahrah, standing there with her long and boney fingers clasped together and a smile on her face. "Thank you for being kind to Jafar."

"Oh, well, you know what they say; no act of kindness ever goes to waste." She scratched the back of her head.

"And I trust that you delivered the basket and the letter to Mia?"

"Yup. She was thankful."

"Good, now if you don't mind, perhaps helping with the bread making?"

"Bread making? Oh, uh…I don't know how to make bread." She expected to get an odd look from Zahrah, but instead she just smiled and said,

"Then I will teach you."

A few moments later and Nemo found herself smashing and kneading the heaviest bread doughs after they discovered that she preferred the more strenuous work. She actually found it rather amusing to go around the kitchen and help them out; it gave her something to do while Altair did…whatever it was he was doing. Nemo wasn't going to pry, so her reaction was just an 'okay.'

Jafar came up beside her and tugged gently on her shirt to get the werewolf's attention. Nemo looked down and was about to say 'hi' until he cut her off rather eagerly, "Can you teach me how to make bread?"

"Oh, um…I'm not very good at it. You mi-"

"Please?"

Nemo smiled and laughed. "Sure. Here, this is what you do…"

* * *

She placed her hands (which still had traces of dried dough) behind her head and waited near the wooden fence that began at the incline to the library and looked up to the sky. A few clouds were blocking the sun, allowing her watch the birds fly in the sky without being blinded by the intense rays. "Sometimes I wish that I could fly. Huh, as if gliding wasn't enough…." She gazed back down to the ground and dropped her hands. In a strange and twisted sense, she could 'glide' but it was really just a seventy-foot leap while sprinting, sometimes one hundred feet or higher depending on if she's on an incline or not. "Where's Altair?" She glanced over the several heads and sighed. "He's been gone for most of the day." Her attention was turned towards a loud rustling off in the corner. There she saw Jafar with three other men, the men seeming to taunt and harass him. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but she could tell that by the expression on Jafar's face they were doing something he really didn't like. As she watched them push him around, Nemo felt rage beginning to burn up inside of her. There was a _shlink_ as she extended her claws, speed-walking over to them with a scowl on her face. She bared her fangs and now-sharpened teeth. Once she got close enough, one of the men spotted her and said something to the others. They all turned and faced her, attempting to look intimidating to stop her in her tracks. But, as they would have been, they were terribly mistaken.

"_Get away from him_," She hissed. Apparently her impression was just as deep as the anger in her eyes and was frightening enough to scare them away. As they began to flee, Nemo relaxed herself and kneeled down next to Jafar. Even though it didn't seem like it, it actually took Nemo a great amount of self-control to stop herself from attacking the men. "Hey, are you okay?" She wiped a tear from his eye as he did an 'uhuh.' He sniffled a bit and then said,

"Thank you." He eyes glanced at her long, silver claws were gleaming in the sunlight. She noticed and let them melt away back into the bones of her fingers.

"They shouldn't bother you anymore. I give quite an impact on people when I'm angry." She stood up straight, her yellow eyes shifting over to where the men went.

"Why do they do that, Nemo? Why do they make others miserable?"

"Because their stupid low-lives who really need to get a life or at least get stabbed at a taco stand."

"What?"

"Oh, right…you wouldn't know that." She ruffled his hair, a bit of flour coming off and into the air from the previous hours before.

"Hey, Nemo, when are you leaving? I heard that you have been following Altair."

"Oh, yeah, um…I leave tomorrow, I think. We were just here to rest for a while." She noticed that Jafar looked suddenly saddened. "Hey, it's alright, I'll be back in a week or so."

"A _week_?"

"Is that too long?" She joked, relieved to be getting a smile from him.

* * *

Nemo was actually quiet for once, having nothing to say as she walked beside Altair to wherever his errand was. Some place within Masyaf, but where, Nemo didn't know. She was not going to pry at anything. Instead, she just kept her eyes on the ground and subconsciously followed the man in robes as canines sometimes do, thinking of what the ride to Acre would be like. Maybe there were other dogs there that she could form an alliance with, or perhaps something like what the Brotherhood has, where there's a 'main spot' and then several bureaus around. She had something similar to that in Montana, with a pack of stray dogs in the southern end of the town and another in a nearby village. She was a lone wolf so she never really _had_ a pack, but the dogs managed to bring her company. Without her, they would have died, so they owed their lives to her anyways. They didn't know how to fight for food, they didn't know how to fend off the ever-so-stupid humans. If it weren't for Nemo, those dogs would have been captured and then euthanized for being deemed 'dangerous.' Thanks to her, the stray dogs made a bit of a 'pack' and she was welcomed, became their friend. In the other town, the dogs were friendly there as well, and they took a liking to her. She introduced the groups of dogs together and they became allies, having connections of sorts. But here in the Middle East, she has yet to see a canine of any sort. She would like to have a band of dogs in one city, and then have connections in another. If there were ever a time when they were being attacked, the dogs would help out, anyways. It's like throwing a snake at a person who broke into your house; it always works. Except a dog can be much more vicious than a snake.

She figured that something like that would probably never happen, but just the initial thought of it got her slightly excited. She would definitely be helping out the brotherhood, but how would she know that the dogs here are the same in Montana? They would most likely attack her, especially the wolves since the Arabian wolves have a harsh life.

Once they stopped outside of a building, Altair simply said 'stay here.' Nemo frowned but agreed, thinking to herself, _why did I come along?_ Upon waiting outside, she caught whiff of something familiar, but she hadn't smelt in a long time…

She turned her head in the direction and saw a tall, light-brown, sleek-furred dog, skinny as can be with the ribcage clearly shown through the skin, standing his ground and staring at her. Her mind immediately said _oh crud_ as the dog began barking at her. "This isn't good…." She said and uncrossed her arms as the dog approached. Out of instinct, she began barking back, taking a few steps backwards. Right as she was anticipating it, the dog dashed over to her, pouncing on her, forcing her onto the ground. He tried to viciously bite her, but Nemo kicked him with her feet on the underside and sent him flying off of her. The dog hurriedly got back up onto his feet, snarling and growling viciously. "Why do you smell like a dog?"

Nemo's ears perked right up. "Did you just…speak?"

"_Why do you smell like a dog_?" The dog seemed to have hissed without moving his mouth. "You smell like one of mine." He arched his back, ears flat on his head as long, sticky strands of saliva dripped from his baring teeth.

"I must be hearing things." She got down on all fours. "Look, I'm _not_ your enemy," She said to him.

"You…_intruder_!" He began to charge at her again, this time intent of killing her (not like he would get very far).

As he jumped, Nemo caught him in her arms and grabbed around his neck, bringing the dog into a headlock. He struggled to get out of her grasp until Nemo picked him up and slammed his back against the ground, now standing over him with her claws hovering over his throat, about to plunge them straight to the exposed neck.. "I'm _not_ your enemy," She hissed. The dog stopped moving, the defeat utterly obvious as he submitted.

"Yes, master," He said. "I'm sorry."

_This dog can't be a werewolf,_ She thought, _That's just impossible. Unless if I can…_ Her eyes went wide as she realized.

"I CAN SPEAK TO DOGS?" She yelled and jumped off of the poor pooch, scrambling over to a nearby rock and taking hold of it.

The defeated dog flipped himself over back up onto his paws and looked back at her, his tail in between his legs. He whimpered and trotted off in the other direction.

Altair came out of the building, looking around for Nemo. He saw her near the rock, bent over with her eyes fixated on where the dog was. He came up to her, but before he could say anything, she hastily said, "I'm going back up to the fortress, see you later." Just as she began to walk away, Altair grabbed onto her collar and asked sternly,

"What happened?"

"Okay, I think I'm about to freak out. Umm…" She told him the story. At first he seemed rather skeptical but he knew that she wouldn't lie. After a while, he told her come inside and help out with carrying a few of the boxes up to the fortress.

She grabbed hold of two of the heavy boxes, grunting as she did so. "Oooo, this is heavy." Before she could say anything else, they were out of the door and walking the usual route back. "I've had a crazy couple of weeks…maybe I was just hearing things…."

"Don't be too quick to say such things," Altair said, almost warning. "Knowing you, it could be anything."

"Yeah, but if it is, then that means that what I'm about to expect to the next couple of years could be completely wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"If I can talk to dogs…or other animals…then that's a huge biggie that I didn't know about, so then what else would there be? What I've been expecting for my whole life could be completely and utterly wrong." She looked straight ahead again. Altair said nothing in response, but she knew that he was wondering. What if she was wrong and the moon phases will eventually affect her, or what about silver? She never believed the whole 'moon-and-silver' things with werewolves, it was just Hollywood stuff, but what if it were real, even though she and Markoh just claimed it to be bullshit?

She tried not to think too hard on the subject as she finished up the errand with her companion.

* * *

Altiar put his swords and knives away on his desk as Nemo sat down on the bed, a hand covering her eyes as she groaned slightly. Altair just couldn't help but notice the pain she was in. "You don't seem well," He said rather bluntly.

"Yeah, well, that's because I have a headache. I'll be fine." She slouched forward a bit, her ears sensitive to Altair's movements. "Go to dinner without me, I swear that I if I eat a bite of anything I'll heave my guts up." She exhaled a painful sigh. He didn't say anything as he left the room, taking one last worried glance at her before closing the door.

The headache went from minor to major to migraine to major migraine, the kind where even the smallest amount of light would be like staring into the sun. Her head throbbed with pain as she laid on her underside, face buried in the pillow. She felt like she was going to throw up on the floor at any moment, but at the same time it would subside quickly, only to come back, torturing her with it's everlasting circle. She didn't know why she felt sick, the only thing she ate was breakfast and that was a little less than half a day ago. Now it felt like something was tied around her forehead, attempting to crush it with something similar to a rope. The pain soon became unbearable but it only worsened. Even with her eyes closed, lights were dancing against the backs of her eyelids. She groaned as she heard the door open.

_This isn't good,_ Altair thought as he saw her laying there practically motionless, her hands now over her head. Asking 'hey are you alright' would definitely not be appropriate seeing as to how it was plainly obvious that she was _not_ alright. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her back, saying in a very quiet voice, "Do you want me to bring a healer?"

Nemo mumbled a 'yes' and sighed in an ineffectual attempt to release some of the tension and pain on her head. She heard him leave, hoping that maybe she just drank a bit of bad water as opposed to something more serious. A few moments later and she heard two pairs of footsteps, one of them Altair's and the other being the healer's. Nemo, despite the excruciating pain that she was in, managed to sit upright, though it was practically impossible. When she opened her eyes, all that she saw a blurriness of lights coming straight at her, almost as if to grab her. She quickly closed her eyes again and covered them with her right hand. "Nemo," A voice said. "I need you to move your hand for a moment and open your eyes." It definitely wasn't Altair's voice; no, this one was different, lighter. She opened her eyes, only to have her body force herself to squint. All of the bright lights were too much for her eyes to handle, but she would be strong.

"Remarkable," The healer said. "The pupils are slit."

_Well, maybe that explains the weird lights,_

"Tell me, Nemo, did anything strange happen before this?"

"I was fighting a dog and I heard it talk. Then I started to get a headache once I finished helping Altair." She heard Altair say something to him Arabic. She hated it when people did that, speaking to someone else in a different language so that she couldn't understand what they were saying. She figured that since it was about her, she had every right to be listening to it, but apparently he thought otherwise…and so did the healer. After a while of speaking, the healer said, "I am sorry, Nemo, but there is nothing that I can do."

"Well that just sucks for me. Ah, shit…." She laid back down. "What should I do if I start hearing voices again?"

"Whatever you please or see fit, I suppose." The man left, leaving both of them there.

A while later, she heard a voice say, "Nemo,"

"What?" She said in a low, annoyed tone.

"Nemo, _Nemo_,"

"I'm right here, what do you want?"

"_Neemmoo_,"

"Alright, seriously, shut the hell up or I'll-"

"Nemo, who are you talking to?" Altair asked.

"You of course, you dumbass. Who else?"

"But I did not say anything."

"You just said my name four times in a somewhat quick succession, and no one else is here, so please do me a huge favor and shut up."

Altair glanced over a red bird that was standing in the windowsill, looking at the girl. He moved forward a bit and remained very quiet.

"I told you to shut up," Nemo said.

Altair said nothing as she covered her ears, a look of agitation spreading across her face. Apparently she became fed up with it and managed to open her eyes, this time the light wavering as if she was looking at the sun from underwater. "The bird," Altair said and pointed to the cardinal as Nemo looked at him. She looked over to the cardinal, staring at her with his beady black eyes. Her eyes widened as she heard a voice say, "Look at the girl, all dressed in dark clothes, staying with a feared man, yet she displays no alarm!"

"Altair, please tell me that you're hearing that, too."

Altair was now intrigued, standing up from his seat. To his eyes, she was just staring at a bird, but to Nemo's ears, she was hearing a voice from a bird that wasn't moving it's beak. "…and this girl can hear me! What a delight that is, to be heard after all of my plight!"

"You can't hear this, can you?" Nemo deduced and glanced over at him. Then the bird flew away, leaving her seriously messed-up vision.

Altair just crossed his arms and looked at her. _She can speak to animals,_ He thought to himself. _That means that she can also speak to Seema._

The rest of the night Altair watched Nemo be in total agony, unable to do anything. She wanted-no, scratch that-_needed_ quietness and peace…and darkness, lots of darkness. He tried to his best make the room pitch black, and ultimately succeeded, but Nemo apparently still thought that it was too bright. Little did she know that the light was coming from her mind, not the physical world.

* * *

When Altair awoke, he found that he was still sitting in the wooden chair with his arms crossed as well as his legs. Nemo was up and awake, her sketchpad in her hand as she drew something down. She glanced up at him, saying, "I see you're awake. Thank God that migraine went away. Hey, could you put your head down a little lower, please?" She said and looked up at him again, then back down to the paper.

"You've been drawing me?"

"I got bored." She looked up at him again. "It's funny how I can draw people better than I can draw wolves or other animals."

He sat there as still as he could possibly be. He didn't want hear her say something like 'great, you made me mess up.' She'd definitely be quick to blame him for any sudden movements…which would make sense. He didn't like the idea of having himself drawn, but for Nemo's sake, he would sit there.

A few minutes later and she put the pencil down beside her, looking at the picture. She smiled and turned it around for him to see. "Looks like you, I suppose." She saw his eyebrows raise slightly in surprise.

"You have skill with art, I see."

"This is the result of me with pencils, papers, you, and two hours on hand."

"Two hours?"

"More or less, I have no clue. For all I know it's been thirty minutes." She put the sketchpad on the bed and stretched, yawning as she did so. Altair walked over to the bed and picked up the sketchbook before she could grab it.

"Hey, I was only going to show you that one," She sighed as he flipped through the pages.

The first one was a person dancing next to a campfire, the shadows deep and dark. The next one was a sketch of a ceramic mug, everything in exact detail, including the chips on the handle. The next one was of him, sleeping on his side. The page after that was a dragon flying in the sky, carrying something that looked like a cow in his mouth. Then there was a very poorly-drawn wolf pack with a big black 'X' through the middle of it, showing that she clearly failed on the drawing. The next one was another picture of him, except this one was different. The detail was almost completely exact to his features, with his cold eyes glaring at the viewer with his hidden blade extended, his arm up as if he were about to plunge it into the person looking at him. The back was arched inward in a way, every detail drawn correctly, from the shadowed cheekbones to the seams on his robes and the scar on his lip. It was so accurate that it was almost scary, and she had drawn it completely from memory. Then his eyes saw something down at the bottom of the page. There, Nemo had scrawled '_not the friend I know_' with a small, black arrow pointing up to him.

"You truly are talented," He said and flipped the page, seeing that it was the one she just drew.

"Yeah, it's not as a private as a journal, so I suppose that you could look into it whenever you like." She took the sketchbook back from him, putting it in her backpack. She checked her phone, seeing that it was fully charged. _Okay, that it just totally outlandishly weird, it's still full,_ She thought to herself.

During breakfast, Nemo figured to herself that the only reason Altair didn't leave earlier for Acre was because he figured that she needed to rest. That was very kind of him to delay himself for her sake, but she did in a way wish that he didn't. And up until recently, she noticed one of the soldiers giving her odd looks lately. She could tell that it was a look of slight disgust, but mostly hatred. She did consider the possibility that people might think of her as a demon, perhaps even an imp or hellhound, but if so, then what could she do? Prove that she's not? How? Either way, they'll both be departing tomorrow, giving her a little over a week's break from any tension within the Brotherhood towards her.

* * *

**6,677 words, 15 pages (who cares about this part, anyways?)**

**You can just tell that I really like Disney movies since I named Jafar after the antagonist from Alladin XD Yeah, I know. Maybe I'll name two people Miguel and Tuilio. You know, from Eldarado?**

**The next chapter will hopefully be more interesting than this one. I know that it took a little longer to post, but I had to think of how to play it out as does every author…and I have a strange habit of making it up as I go along. And I proofread…perhaps obsessively XD I don't know, do you find three or four times (possibly more) to be excessive or just precautionary? XD Sometimes I actually go over the same part up to seven times. **

**I hardly even know what I'm taking about anymore.**


	7. Howl to the Sun

**WOOT!**

* * *

Altair entered the horse stables and strode over to Seema's stall. Perched on the small, wooden door to the stall was Nemo, talking at a rather fast pace to the horse with a wide smile on her face. Whenever she said something that could have been deemed as 'funny,' Seema neighed loudly and bobbed her head up and down. The horse was actually _listening_ to the werewolf and continued chatting on about random things. Then for a moment Nemo would pause, looking at Seema as if the horse were speaking, and then she would respond back. It was like they were both having separate conversations with each other, the two completely different species communicating with each other clearly. Whenever Seema apparently 'spoke' it couldn't be heard, but when Nemo said something anyone could hear.

"Are you serious?" She said with a slight tinge of disbelief, "Wow, that's harsh. I remember when I use to run through the creek and the water was freezing cold but _that_? Wow, I feel for you, I truly do." A silence for about five seconds and Nemo started laughing gently, saying, "Wow, that must've hurt."

Altair just watched, slightly bemused, but intrigued and listening nonetheless. It was almost as if Nemo was talking to a ghost, but he knew very well that she was conversing with his horse, and she was definitely blissful in doing so. "Nemo," He said to get her attention. He saw her jump down from her position and quickly noticed that she was slightly startled by the sudden appearance of her friend.

"Oh, hi," she said. "Guess what? I can talk to Seema! She says that she hates the reins because they're metal and hurt her teeth," She said, still beaming, "but she says that she still likes you."

"Is that so?" He looked over at Seema and saw her bob her head up and down, doing a grunting noise. "What did she say this time?"

"Nothing. It's just a horse thing to do those sounds. She speaks like how I speak as a wolf; it's her soul that's speaking, not her voice. Though I think that she's not actually thinking the _words_, she just thinks of the general idea and I hear words. While I say the words, she gets the general image and can respond back to it," She explained. "There's no way how she could know the whole English language, same way like how a giraffe wouldn't, or a cat, or an alligator."

"Why can you and the other animals do such things, but we cannot?"

"Because you're human. Humans learned to use their voices to communicate with others. Animals use their souls. It's really cool, I just want to talk to every animal that I see, but I can't do that. I'd love to, though."

"Can you still hear their songs, such as birds?"

"Yeah, course I can. When a bird sings she's singing, not talking. I'm sure that she can sing and talk at the same time if she can use her brain in that way, but that can be difficult. Try singing a song and then thinking words aloud in your head that are completely unrelated. It's actually really difficult." She opened the stall door for Altair and tossed him the reins. "How long will it take to get to Acre?"

"Usually about three or four days, sometimes a little longer. It depends if I get interrupted or not."

"Sorry if I slow you down."

"Don't be sorry."

As he put the reins on Seema, Nemo could have sworn that a small smile formed from behind his white hood. Not a smirk, not a grin, but a smile of complete contentment, happiness that she hasn't actually seen. It was diminutive, hardly even perceptible, but it was _real_, and then Nemo speculated if she could really make him that happy. It was hard to tell if Altair was really ever happy at all since he always makes himself appear neutral, but Nemo could sometimes see past that, gaze through the outer shell. She knew that Altair had emotions locked away somewhere within himself, such as a corner of the soul, not willing to reveal them, not willing to bring them into the light. She was indeed the only person that Altair could open himself up to, and she apparently did something right because that caught on extremely quick, but he did he even _know_ that he was isolating himself from everyone else? Did he _acknowledge_ the fact that he repressed certain memories, certain emotions from specific things? Was it possible for Nemo to ever 'chisel' her way through, to free him from the withdrawn feelings, the lack of emotions? It didn't bother her that he had inhibited emotions, but it made her feel sorry for him. He didn't _need_ to be like this, always shunning others, never being open-minded with others. Unless if he reserved that for Nemo and Nemo only, but that was vastly doubtful. She was close to Altair, that was definite, and Altair felt a strong camaraderie with her, but when would he _realize_ that he could tell her how he feels, what he thinks?

Nemo wouldn't know for sure.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow-" Nemo exclaimed as Seema bounced up and down higher than usual. "Seema, could you not go up-and-down so often? Ow, ow…" Seema didn't seem to pay attention to Nemo's pain. She felt a low vibration from Altair. "Hey, are you laughing?" When she received no response, she figured it was a 'yes' and hit him playfully on the back. "I'm not use to riding a horse. Why couldn't I just have my own?"

"Because all of the other horses are currently being used."

"Oh, excuses, excuses." She laughed and rolled her eyes as they passed underneath a gate. She was now comfortable hanging onto Altair even though it did seem odd since he literally had rock-hard abs. As Seema began running, she placed her head on Altair's back, sighing as the wind wiped by them. He tensed slightly, but then relaxed ever so slightly, eventually becoming used to the feeling of her on his back.

The four days to Acre were spent like that, riding in the same order. Although one time Nemo actually fell asleep (!) but she never even did once do so much as sway, never mind have her muscles relax.

* * *

Nemo's recently joyful mood soon altered to a more grave one as they were close to Acre. People with dirty and tattered clothes walked by, most crying, many injured in some way or another. _Definitely not happy campers,_ Nemo thought and hung to Altair a little tighter.

Altair brought Seema over to the stables and dismounted her. Before leaving the horse, Nemo patted her on the head and said, "We'll be back in a couple days, maybe longer."

_Okay, Nemo. I won't go anywhere,_ She heard Seema response, then strode next to Altair.

"Alright, do you want me to just scale the wall again?"

"If you mean by 'scale' as in 'climb' then please do so."

"Meet you on the other side," She departed from her friend and walked over to a dark shadow cascading near the stone wall. "Wow, this is just way too easy. The stone here has so much more nooks and rough edges on it to climb, this will be a hell of a lot easier than the ones back in Damascus." She extended her razor-sharp claws and started climbing up the wall quickly in order to avoid being spotted by anyone. Upon reaching the top, she leapt down what must have been a thirty-foot drop onto a building. Her body folded in on itself to absorb the impact. She then averted her gaze towards the front gates where she spotted Altair walking innocently with a group of scholars, hands clasped together as if in prayer. If he were actually praying anything it would probably be 'don't let Nemo screw me up.' Nemo grinned and chuckled to herself, leaping down from the rooftop and into a dark alleyway.

Upon skipping up to him, she asked, "Do I look too preppy?"

"_Way_ to preppy."

"Should I look depressed?"

"At least serious."

Nemo glanced around the place. The skies were cloudy and gray, threatening to downpour at any given moment. Many of the buildings had been broken and crumbled as if someone stepped on them, pieces of stone and wood spread about the area. There was grey smoke billowing up towards the gloomy sky along with the smell of sewage and the disgusting scent of humans, so terrible that Nemo's nose felt like it was going to become numb. Humans smelt bad no matter how much they showered, but when _none_ of them showered and there hundreds of them, living in tight corners all together, it's enough to make any canine want to run away. The people also had ripped clothes and dirty faces, many of them crying and wailing in grief, covered in soot and dust. Just looking about the depressing city made Nemo become more serious and ultimately succeeded in wiping the smile from her face. "Altair, what happened here?"

"It was attacked, but it was only the first wave." Before he turned around, she saw his pupils suddenly dilate. _He's using eagle vision,_ She deduced.

"So where to?"

He looked around, dark eyes shining in what little light there was. "North," he said bluntly, leading the way.

Nemo stayed close to him. She did notice the odd looks that she was getting, but she supposed that she would probably get that anywhere. Most women didn't where pants never mind have her style of hair.

She soon became nervous from all of the injured and saddened people that she grabbed onto Altair's arm as if to reassure herself that she was safe. He didn't say anything-didn't even look back at her, in that matter-but he allowed it and didn't refuse.

There was a shrill scream that rang throughout Nemo's ears. "Help! Somebody help me, please! _Please_!" She looked over to the source of the commotion and saw a lady being attacked by a group of soldiers. She screamed again, "Let go of me, I've done nothing wrong!"

"Altair," Nemo said, now only hanging onto him by the cloth of his white robes with her left hand.

"What will you do about it?" He said and stopped in his tracks, gazing at the woman in complete and utter distress as she was harassed by the guards, being tossed back and forth while they said sexually suggestive things to her.

Nemo was silent for a moment before saying, "I'll be right back."

She marched up to the men. Just as one began to say something to her, she grabbed him roughly by the scruff of the neck, punching him three times in the stomach hard enough to cause him to throw up, then picked him up with her left arm and used her right to slam him down against the dirty stone ground, knocking him out cold. Everyone in the area went silent as the other soldiers turned their attention on Nemo. Altair just crossed his arms. Just her sheer display power was enough to intimidate them, but he knew very well that the soldiers weren't smart enough to know to back away. As he predicted, they did go after her, and the sequence went as this:

As the first one that came running at her, she dodged the sword by jumping over it, then grasped the man by the back of the head and slammed him into a nearby stone, causing him to go unconscious. She effortlessly dodged another sword (the move was highly predictable) and seized the man by the arms, flipping him over into another soldier. They both fell to the ground, scrambling to their feet to fight her back. Ultimately, they failed, for Nemo managed to easily knock them out with thrusts from her fists. The last man standing started to back away from her, terror in his eyes. He was perplexed as to why she wasn't weary and why she didn't do some form of a sound from the strain that should have been put on her, such as a grunt or a '_hiyah_.' Not only that, but she displayed no emotion on her face. Her mouth was nothing but a thin line, no muscle even tensed. She just stood there and stared him straight through the eyes, then fought the urge to run after him as he fled from the scene, obviously afraid for his life.

Nemo walked up to the lady and asked, "Are you alright, ma'am?"

"Thank God you saved me! All the city will know of your sacrifice! I'm sorry that I don't have anything in return to give to you, but you have all of my thanks and gratitude." Nemo smiled at the lady and wagged her invisible tail. _Guess I wasn't as bloody as Altair. That's a first,_ She thought to herself.

"Come on, let's get out of here," she said hastily as she walked past Altair, not wanting other guards to come by and go after her. Altair apparently read her mind and quickly began to fast-walk away from the scene.

* * *

They fell down the opening to the Assassin's Bureau, Altair being first. The duo wordlessly walked into the adjacent room where the rafiq was currently standing, bent over an old book.

"Ah, Altair," he said, pronouncing Alair's name as 'Altayee,' "I little bird told me that you be paying a visit with that girl of yours."

"Al Mualim has ordered the execution of Garnier de Naplouse, and so here I am." He glanced at Nemo for a moment. "What can you tell me about him?"

"He is the grand master of he Knights Hospital." The rafiq said. He was an older man with dark eyes and a profoundly cadaverous face and body with hollowed cheekbones. One eye was discolored and blinded. He had bird-like, beaky nose, along with dark skin and several missing teeth that surprisingly didn't impair his speech. "He surely keeps his quarters in their district. Beyond that, I cannot say. I sugget you search the city, see what you can learn from the people."

"Tell me where they gather and I'll see what I can find."

"The public gardens are north of here-or what's left of them-are as good a place as any to begin. There's an abandoned market northwest as well that merits watching. And Mariyah of Josephus to the west remains a popular meeting place. These three locations should be sufficient for your needs."

"I appreciate the information, rafiq. It will be put to good use."

"See that it is." He back down at his book, then up again at Nemo. "I surmise that you are to join him?"

"I suppose." Nemo shrugged and gave a meager smile.

"Then be careful, I will tell you. This city, like many others, do indeed have crimes and no doubt they will go for you if you give them the chance, but I am sure you already knew that."

"I guess it's really more of common sense, but thank you, though. Any guy who lays a hand on me won't be getting it back, right?"

"Do you have anything of theirs?" Altair asked the rafiq.

"Excuse me?" The older man turned his gaze to the assassin.

"Do you have anything from another assassin, such as a piece of cloth?"

"I do, in fact. Right here," he rummaged around the bottom of the counter, then pulled out a white piece of cloth and handed it to Altair. "Will this suffice?"

He picked it up and examined it, then held it up to the werewolf. "Nemo," he said. "…seek."

"Right on it." She transformed herself into a small wolf, shuffling out of her clothes, going around in circles to catch onto the scent of the man. The rafiq was-as expected-amazed by the gesture, but before he could really say anything, Nemo climbed up and over the wall with Altair and then started to follow the scent of the man. She slowed her pace for Altair, knowing that it would indeed be rather bad if she went too fast.

Swerving back and forth with her muzzle to the ground, she follow the scent for a complete hour…and it seemed hopeless. "Jesus, where the hell did this guy go? We've been going around this place forever."

"Just lead, we'll find him sooner or later."

Nemo sighed and sniffed the ground again, thinking that there was the possibility that they were going around in circles. She wouldn't know, for she kept her gaze averted to the ground. If that was so, then the only thing that she would have succeeded in was waste both of their time.

Regardless of how long it would take, Nemo acknowledged the fact that Altair was patient to the extreme. One hour soon turned into two, and he didn't make any remarks, never suggested another method. He obviously trusted her with this, but Nemo was beginning to doubt herself. She may have picked up the wrong scent along the way and was accidentally following the wrong trail. That would just completely and utterly suck.

Two hours turned to three, and she finally lead both of them to another assassin dressed in white. He looked terrified, or rather, _petrified_, hiding behind a tree, being very wary of his surroundings. Nemo rose her head just slightly to look at the man and she immediately said, "Something's not right." Altair walked in front of her and to the man. From behind, Nemo heard the conversation:

"Wait, don't kill me! Oh, it's you, Altair…" Altair said nothing. "Three men found out that I was an assassin. I began to flee, and I eventually lost them, but now they're after me." _Well, that explains the run around town,_ Nemo thought, perking one ear up to hear them better. "If you could be so generous as to slay them for me, I will share you a very interesting tale in return." Altair accepted, brushing past Nemo and saying,

"You know what to do. Don't cause a ruckus."

"Aye-aye." She turned around and trotted away, tail raised slightly.

* * *

Altair sat on a bench, pretending to be asleep, but kept his eyes open and wary. He looked at a soldier who appeared to be searching for someone or something, one hand clasped around his sword's hilt. Altair switched his eyes from normal vision to eagle vision, and upon seeing the man was glowing yellowish, he smirked mentally to himself. The regular, physical-world vision came back to him, but he hesitated as the man looked over at him. He remained still as the man checked him over from afar, pondering as to whether or not Altair was his target or just another scholar. His decision was obvious when he walked away.

Altair stood up and followed the man closely, making sure that he wasn't going to turn around and spot him. Once he was finally close enough, he extended the silver, hidden blade, a _shlink_ quickly following it. In a millisecond, he drove the blade into the man's back, covering his mouth with his right hand to prevent the emitting scream from being heard by other ears. He pulled the blade back in and hastily walked away, pretending he did absolutely nothing. Screams rang throughout his ears as the people were terrified at the suddenly fallen and dead soldier. _That was the first, now to find the second, unless if Nemo already got both of them. I should have told her to only kill one and let me get the rest…now _I_ might have to go looking for her._ He sighed to himself. _That's a mistake I shall never make again_.

* * *

"This faggot of a job is completely suckish right now." Nemo said blandly and did the best dog-pout that she could have possibly produced. She currently sat near a fountain, staring off into space as she waited for someone even remotely suspicious-looking to come by. "This is worse than watching an old guy fish during the day time. Ugh, this sucks." Her ears went flat against her head. It then dawned on her just exactly _what _she was doing. She was waiting for someone to kill like how a hunter waits up in a tree with a gun for a deer to run by, then shoots the deer and kills it. That's exactly what she was doing…to her _own kind_, to another member of her species. A sinking feeling settled itself within her chest and she suddenly wished to stand up and walk away, but she knew that she couldn't do that. She wasn't permitted to, from both Altair and herself, and there would be no way for her to atone for doing such a thing. She waited and waited for her target to walk by, and all the while she just couldn't rid her mind of the thought.

After a while more of waiting underneath the gloomy sky that possessed only one emotion (the 'emotion' being depression), a figure walked by. He looked like a Templar, with the funny-looking helmet and all, with his hand gripped around the hilt of his sword.

"Bingo," She said to herself and stood up. The man looked at her for a concise moment-t was, by a hair's breadth, barely even a look; it was more like a mere glance of sudden curiosity that washed away like a salty wave within a nanosecond-and then continued on his route, or rather, his search. Then he noticed that the seemingly-to-be dog wouldn't cease staring at him. Slightly bemused, possibly even disturbed, he withdrew himself from her presence and disappeared within the crowd. "You can't hide from a wolf," Nemo stated as she followed where he was going to. _How the hell do I get this guy? I doubt that he's just going to walk into an alleyway,_ She kept her yellow eyes set on him as he walked ahead, not letting him leave from her sight. Hmm…what if she stole a current possession of his in a high-profile manner and then ran away, using the item and herself as bait?

Thinking of no other option, she began to run after him, people parting a surprised path for her (it didn't look like she was going to stop any time soon). Once she was on his heels, she leapt on his back and knocked him to the ground, biting onto his belt. She ripped it off with her teeth and jumped off of him. Veering around slightly, she turned back at him, the brown leather belt hanging from her mouth. She taunted him easily by simply standing there, waiting for him to get back on his feet and register what had just happened. Once he did so, he yelled out something sounding similar to "_Chien enrager_!" and began to chase after her.

Soundlessly on her padded paws, she ran away fast enough so that she wouldn't get caught, but also slow enough so that the Templar wouldn't loose her. "_Zut chien_!" He yelled, trying to run as fast as he could.

"This is so much better than a video game," she said and swerved around the people, her eyes scanning for a dark alleyway. When she found none, she realized that she had accidentally lead both of them into another district of Acre…which was just absolutely _perfect_ for Nemo. "Ah crap, this sucks." She panted, leaping in the air through a merchant's stand. There were shrieks of surprise as she scaled the tabletop, being followed by the Templar.

She took a sharp turn right into an alleyway and ran up the wall before the Templar turned, as well. When she realized that the wall was too slick to get any traction upon, she panicked briefly and jumped up the wall, then kicked her feet and soared to the other wall, jumping from wall-to-wall until she reached her destination. Up on the rooftop, she gazed down and saw the man progress forward into the dead end. When he realized that she wasn't down there, he did a perplexed gesture. Upon him doing so, Nemo leapt down from her point and dropped the belt, landing on all fours practically noiselessly. The surprised Templar appeared to be flabbergasted and wheeled around to face his opponent, backing up at the sight of her. He was cornered. She bore her white teeth, back rigid with agitated fur. "Tricked you," she said, almost as a jest, "Impale me if you wish…it isn't going to work." She barked at him once, then charged quickly, pouncing on the man. He screamed and used his arms to defend himself but it did not prevail, for Nemo attacked him mercilessly with her teeth in very quick succession.

After goring him to death, she stopped biting and stared down at him. She removed his helmet with her paw and saw that his eyes were still open, his mouth still in a screaming position as he had exclaimed his last agonies of death. She closed his eyes and licked the side of his now-bloodied face, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry, but you were going to kill someone important to us, I had no other choice. _Je regret, je regret, mon ami_, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my friend," She licked him one more time, saying, "Be at peace, _mon frere._" She then climbed up the wall and left before anyone else saw the butchery.

She licked her face and paws clean of the blood before returning to the assassin.

Upon trotting over the destination, her ears caught something that she found particularly interesting. Two men speaking with each other, faces stern and eyes full of seriousness that seemed somewhat unnecessary at the moment.

"-I already _told_ you, boy, we need those roads fixed or else we risk an accident," An older man-and a knight, in fact-said with a warning tone.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the houses are in need of repair, and we are working as fast as we can." The younger man, who had a much gentler voice, said.

"The citizens? What do they do other than cry and complain? It's us knights that risk everything so that the rest of us may live in peace. Now, here is a letter that must be delivered to Garnier de Naplouse."

"Yes, sir."

"Good, now do it quickly or else you'll find yourself in iron."

"Y-yes sir."

"Off, now."

The two departed from each other, both going in opposite directions.

_THIS IS WHEN I WISH I HAD OPPOSABLE THUMBS._ Nemo screamed to herself mentally and followed the man. _Alright, now to do this quickly without getting caught. 'Don't cause a ruckus,' Altair said to me. How the hell do I _not_ cause a ruckus with THIS going on?_ As she walked, she contemplated. _Ah, hell with it._ She quickly padded up behind him, extending her neck to grab for the opening in his pouch. She stuck her snout in it and grabbed a corner of the paper was sticking out, biting onto it gently. She looked around nervously; people were glancing at her. Hoping that the boy wouldn't feel anything, she hastily pulled it out of his pocket and began to run away.

After a few yards, she heard him yell, "Hey! Someone just took what's in my bag! Bloody hell," he then came out with a wave of colorful swears that made Nemo raise her eyebrows.

Double checking to make sure that nobody was following her, she made her way back to the assassin.

* * *

She waited what was probably thirty minutes until Altair returned, speed walking over to them. Nemo wagged her tail and resisted against the urge to stand up, which ultimately made her fidgety. He glanced at her for a moment-possibly at the letter in her mouth-before the other assassin began to speak to him.

"Thank you, Altair. Before I tell you the tale, might you tell me why this dog is with you?"

Nemo growled, baring her teeth.

"That does not matter."

"Right, of course, my apologies. Here is the tale that I have to tell;"

To put it in a nutshell, apparently Garnier had a 'hospital' in northern Acre where he keeps subjects, but what he did to them, the assassin didn't know. He had also been spotted several times over the past two weeks near a large church by the ports, 'the one with the biggest cross,' according to him.

"Well, that was a success." Nemo said and trotted away next to Altair. She stepped over the wooden shrapnel that was on the ground. She had very thick pawpads, but they could still get splintered. "I got a letter and it has something to with Garnier."

Altair said nothing, but grabbed onto the corner of the letter in her mouth. She let go and watched him put it in a pocket of his robes.

"So what do we do next?"

Again, Altair was silent, but noticeably balled up his fist three times. Nemo immediately got the image.

"Oh, gonna beat the stuffing out of someone. Want me to hang back?" This time he twitched his index finger inward twice, indicating 'yes.' "Okay, then I shall."

_I'm impressed. I didn't actually think that she would have understood that,_ Altair thought, feeling suddenly relieved. _I was afraid that I would have to be telepathic._

Another two hours they spent, searching for anyone giving a speech. He eventually found someone who had a rather small crowd, but a very big voice. He spoke of Garnier as a 'savior of the land,' giving hope to all, making them stronger day-by-day. _Stronger? You enslaved them, you lowlife perverted creep,_ Nemo thought as she listened.

After the man realized that he wasn't attracting anyone else, he finished up his speech and walked down from the podium-like…thing. He was unaware that Altair began following him.

"I'll be right here," Nemo said right before Altair was out of earshot.

He didn't take his eyes off of the man as he followed him closely. He waited until the man strolled down into an empty walkway. Upon seeing that no one was around, Altair walked up behind the man quickly and grabbed onto the scruff of his neck and punched him the face, now fully engaged in a fistfight.

In the end, Altair definitely and obviously won.

* * *

The wolf had her head rested on her paws with her eyes closed, in a half-dazed, half-conscious state. She felt a boot gently touched her on the side of the head. She opened her eyes and immediately stood up upon seeing that it was Altair. "I take it you won?"

He motioned with his head for her to follow. Now that it was getting late, there probably wasn't enough time for them to do anything else other than return to the bureau.

"It's you! That's him!" A voice of a soldier yelled.

"Ah, shit," Nemo said and turned around.

"Return to the bureau," Altair said in a stern tone and drew his dagger.

The soldier charged at him with his sword, cussing wildly, only to have Altair dodge his attack and come around his backside, stabbing him in the neck. There was a short silence with abrupt gasps, then an eruption of screams as people began to flee. About five soldiers surrounded Altair, but no one went for the other until one of them yelled, "You will die here, you filthy assassin!"

Altair spun around and ducked to dodge a sword, then started attacking the soldier with swift blows from the dagger. The soldier somehow managed to dodge them until Altair punched him in the side of the face, dazing him. He brought his opponent to his knees and rose the dagger, stabbing him in the head with a loud _crack_ following it. He kicked the man with his right leg and wheeled around, diverting another blow from a sword. A few sparks flew as they clashed dagger-and-sword together, Altair eventually slitting his enemy's throat. Blood splattered as the man fell, cueing for the next enemy to come. Before he had time to turn around to his next opponent, someone grabbed onto the back of his robes and threw him into a merchant stand. The weak frame broke and fell on him (again).

"Altair!" Nemo yelled, a look of worry on her face. Her visage then changed and her teeth bared. She snarled and growled loudly to get their attention. She started barking widely and frantically.

The soldiers looked up at the now-gigantic wolf who was standing on all fours on a rooftop, blocking the somewhat-protruding evening sun. The wolf then rose her head and howled loudly to the sky, the eerie, bone-chilling noise causing every hair on their body to rise.

Six seconds later and the howl ended, and she was angry as hell.

She leapt down from her perch just as Altair rose from the heap of wood, still slightly stunned.

He turned his head and saw Nemo thrust her paw forward. Half of her arm went straight through a man's chest, then he fell as she withdrew it. Standing on her hind legs, she emitted an animalistic noise and grabbed a nearby soldier with her paw, picking him up a good few feet from the ground. He struggled to get out of her grip, only to have himself thrown into a wall. He splattered upon impact like a bug, insides staining the wall.

Altair backed away as she bit onto another man and started wringing his entire body like some type of sick dog toy until he was killed by the force. She grabbed onto the next man, tossing him upside down, then slammed him into the ground, skull and neck driven into the chest cavity from the impact. After that, the last man standing had himself sliced in half length-wise from the wolf's claws. "_Don't touch him_," She growled, falling back down onto all fours. She turned around and saw Altair, then trotted over to him. She licked him on the side of face, asking, "Are you alright?" She sniffed over him for a moment as he said nothing. He was too surprised…shocked, actually…for any responses. "Your arm," She licked some of the blood-his blood-from a small scrap on his robe. Her eyes then widened when she realized what she did. She turned around and was silent for a while.

"I cannot _believe_ what I just did," She stated in disbelief.

She didn't know that she had that kind of strength.

"We need to leave," Altair said as he stood up completely, clutching Nemo's wolf-shoulder for support. _That is her form of protection,_ Altair thought to himself as the two began to run away. _Am I…her pack? Is she the alpha female?_

* * *

Altair jumped down first, then Nemo, who was currently weakened from being a wolf for practically the whole day. She had shifted herself back to her smaller size, but if she was her normal size then it wouldn't be a problem, but seeing as to how she was probably only slightly larger than a husky, it was taking a toll on her body.

They walked over to the rafiq, Nemo searching for her clothes (she managed to clean herself from the blood). While she gathered them, Altair read the letter, then told the rafiq of what they had learned. Upon doing so, the bureau leader gave him a feather for the target's soon-to-be-spilt blood. "You and your dog should rest."

Nemo growled and aggressively approached him, but was stopped by Altair when he grabbed onto her collar.

"You shouldn't call her that," he warned.

"Do you take offense to that?" the old man asked in a calmed, unworried tone.

Nemo was silent for a moment and then calmed herself down, saying, "Yes, but it's not you. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just used to responding that way. I'm a wolf, not a dog…sorry…I shouldn't expect people to know that." She knew that this rafiq was a good man-very kind, as well-and has some amount of admiration for Altair.

"I will still apologize. So it is true; you can speak without your voice."

"Is it really that extraordinary?"

"Yes, in fact, I'm just…surprised."

"By the way, I'm not Altair's 'dog.' I'm no one's dog, but it's alright. I really need to just chillax sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Altair echoed, letting go of her collar.

"Don't push it, _bucko_."

He ruffled the fur on her head and sauntered into the other room, the wolf right on his heels.

* * *

Nemo spit out the piece of fruit. "Sorry, I just can't stomach this stuff right now." She threw the piece of fruit at Altair, who caught it quickly with his free hand. "You eat it." She grabbed a piece of cheese and nibbled on it. She listened to him sigh as he set the piece of fruit aside and continued eating his bread.

"You seem to have a permanent aversion to fruit."

"You have no idea."

"Then why did you eat it earlier?"

"'Cause there was nothing else." She grabbed another roll. "Fruit always makes me sick." There was a silence for a moment, both of them eating in silence. It was almost as if the two of them were attempting to read the other's mind. Eventually, the silence became peaceful and both of them seemed to relax. The rafiq was now gone, upstairs, perhaps, for the rest of the night.

"You should have said something, then." Altair said after a while.

"I guess I couldn't bring myself to it. You probably wouldn't have understood it back then. Hmm…back then…maybe I should say two weeks ago."

"Three."

"Three? It's been that long?"

"You must have lost count,"

"Whoa. I didn't realize that." She looked down at the assortment of fruits.

"You must miss your brother, I assume."

"Yeah. I…" The sinking feeling returned in her chest when she realized that she had actually _forgotten_ about Markoh. "…I can show you some pictures of him. We look nothing alike, it's kind of funny." She dug out her phone and moved next to Altair. She scrolled to the 'pictures' section and brought up a picture of a tall man with a very broad chest, probably no more than a hundred and twenty pounds. He had long, yellowish hair; not nearly as white as Nemo's had once been. His deep blue eyes had been shining in the sun along with his smile as he sat in the shade of a tree. He, at the moment, had been wearing a fancy black shirt with black pants. "Well…that's him. My brother who also takes place of both of my parents." She scrolled over to the next picture. This one was of him with Nemo as a wolf, holding her fluffy head in a headlock. She giggled a bit, then went to the next picture, which was just of him sitting down near a tree.

She then went to the 'videos' section. "These are just some videos of him. Oh wait, this one first," She tapped one titled 'Chicken Chase.' It buffered for a moment, then began playing. "Alright, I'm gonna let the chickens out," Markoh said in his soft voice.

"Ledda rip…not literally…" Nemo, who was a wolf again, said, her upper half on the ground in a playful manner as Markoh lifted the gate to a chicken pen and scared all of them away. Nemo immediately pounced on the nearest one, a loud _crunch_ quickly following as she bit and killed it. She was then overwhelmed by the number of the chickens but was definitely having fun chasing them around the field and through the forest. She grabbed onto one chicken and bit it on the chest, swallowing it whole. She then ran after the rest. She definitely got the grass and plants bloody, along with herself, but at the end of the video, Markoh said, "Holy moly, that's a new record!" The video then stopped.

"Alright, now that you know what a chicken chase is, this one is actually of him." She scrolled over to another one called 'Frigid Water Free Dive.' Once it finished buffering, it showed Nemo holding the phone, saying, "Am I holding it right? Wait, that's…" The screen went black for a moment. "I can't see anything."

"That's because you press _this_," Markoh said and pressed a button.

"Oh! Okay, is it recording?"

"Now it is."

"Oh, well, um…" she held the phone to Markoh who was currently wearing blue swimming shorts. "Yeah, um…this is me and Markoh, and Markoh…being himself…decided to jump into the water of this specific lake which is cold practically year round. Lovely Montana weather."

"Peace out, peoples!" He did the peace sign with his fingers.

"Yeah, you…have fun being you."

"Alright! WOOT!" He knelt down and did a backwards flip into the deep waters, splashing the surface of it. Once he came up, he gasped for breath, yelling, "That is COLD!"

Nemo laughed, saying, "Oh god, ha ha, why do you do this kind of stuff?"

"Exactly! I don't!" He hurried out of the water. "Here, hand me the towel," A white towel was thrown to him. "Okay, cannonball!" He did a cannonball in the water as he threw the towel aside, then did all sorts of freakish twists and turns in the air as he dove into the frigid water. The video then ended.

"There's another one that I like." She tapped on another one called 'Tampering With Tape.'

"Alright, I just duct-taped Markoh to the wall…and this is the result." Nemo said and laughed. The image showed Markoh in their basement with the lights on dim, stuck a good three feet off of the ground, suspended by with grey duct tape.

"This is seriously weird…and it's definitely a first for me," Markoh said and laughed.

The video then ended suddenly switched to something else automatically as it usually did, and it was completely unrelated to Markoh. It showed Nemo, her regular human self, laying down on a soft bed, soundly asleep with a look of complete innocence.

"Oh, whoops…I didn't know he did that. Must have grabbed hold of my phone while I was asleep," she was about to change the video until Altair stopped her, studying the images. It was nothing special; just her sleeping. Then it ended and switched to something else. This time it showed Markoh running with Nemo through a field, almost as if he was trying to run away from her. The skies were blue and the grass was green, filled with summer butterflies and other critters of sorts. She quickly caught up to him, both of them laughing, bringing him into a headlock and giving him a noogie. They tackled each other to the ground, now in the grass, panting and sweating. The two were having much fun, chanting and laughing with each other as they rolled around in the grass. They looked so innocent….

Altair noticed Nemo quivering slightly as she brought her head down low. She stopped the video from playing and switched it to his normal background. A tear fell from her face and onto her lap as she brought her shoulders up and leaned forward slightly. Altair put his hand on her back, rubbing her gently as she attempted to suppress herself from crying. She failed only just slightly, just enough that she sniffled every now-and-then, but not enough to prevent her eyes from becoming red.

Nemo put her phone away and shifted herself, throwing her arms around Altair's neck and hugging him tightly. Altair, out of sympathy, put his arms around her as well, holding her close. A whimpering noise escaped from her as she sunk down a bit, burying her head in his chest. She took in a few quick breaths to get her breathing under control, but it didn't prove to be too effective.

Altair brought his hand up and placed it on the back of her head, cradling her back and forth gently. She grasped the cloth of his robes, now becoming more relaxed. A minute later and she just sat there with him, not letting go. Her breath still shook and tears still streamed, but she felt better now, as if she managed to wipe something away. "I'm sorry," she said and pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. "I didn't…I mean, I just…"

"It's alright." He reached over to her and brushed off another fallen tear.

Altair stood up and put the rest of the uneaten food away, leaving Nemo there in the sea of pillows. She picked up one of them and hugged it close to her chest, still missing Markoh.

As Altair came back over to her and laid down, she curled up next to him, this time not beside the wall. They turned to each other, the room now cold from the night. She tucked in her legs a little closer and was so close to Altair that they were practically touching each other. "Thanks," she muttered, sniffling a bit. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

That absolutely struck Altair in the heart (in a positive manner). He brought his arm up and wrapped it around Nemo, shifting a little closer to her. He kept his eyes open, still registering the words. She meant them. That alone was enough to make Altair feel something that he hadn't felt in the longest of time. He couldn't even tell what it was, but it made him _happy_ to hear it.

* * *

The rafiq walked down from the stairwell and looked over at the adjacent room, seeing Altair and Nemo. He looked away for a moment, then looked back, puzzled. Nemo was still curled up in a ball, which wasn't really anything unusual, but the fact that Altair was almost hugging her in a sense was a quite a sight for him. He had his arm around her and had his legs drawn in a bit, almost as if he had been cold, but was protecting the girl at the same time.

He was startled when Altair shot open his eyes stared straight at him. They were completely dilated and larger than usual, frightening the rafiq. It was almost as if he was saying 'back off' and held Nemo a little closer to himself, gently tightening his grip on her, his chin on the top of her head. The rafiq backed away, still startled, and then disappeared from view.

Altair relaxed and listened to Nemo's steady breathing. He found it odd that he didn't want to let go of her, that he wanted to continue clinging onto her like this. He made the decision that she was, indeed, a friend, but _more_ than just a friend. She had used the term 'best friend' and that was all that he could sum Nemo up as. His best friend, and in deciding that, he refused to let go until she awoke. Let the rafiq look at them oddly, he can scare anyone away with his eyes while they're in eagle vision. Anyone but Nemo, of course, but she wasn't frightened by him. Not once has she displayed fear towards him. That alone said a lot. Was it because she knew that he wouldn't hurt her, or was it because she knew that if he _did_ try to hurt her, she would harm him back ten fold? No, that didn't seem like her. She wasn't afraid of him because there was no reason to.

He did know how she reacted whenever someone tried to hurt _him_, though. She became aggressive, agitated, _violent_, threw rage out like fireballs and, if she knew that they were enemies, killed them. It was her crazy form of protection but it was obviously effective. But was it bad for her to do so, to kill like that? She could do it so easily, _way_ to easily. It was _too_ easy. She displayed it back at the market. Maybe the question was really, _is it worth it_? To Nemo, it apparently did. Altair wondered what she would do if anyone tried to verbally attack him. Nemo was harsh with her words, he's gotten only the slight brunt of it at previous times before, but what about if she lashed out _fully_? If someone said something utterly terrible towards or about him and Nemo heard it, what would she do? What's said can't be taken back, but surely she wouldn't kill anyone because of it. He would hate to have to hear Nemo verbally attack someone; he knew that it wouldn't be pretty in any way, shape, or form.

He laid there for a long time, holding the precious girl in his arms, at peace with his decisions and the fact that he now officially had a friend. His _only_ friend, as well.

Nemo's collar rattled slightly as she awoke, saying, "Altair, you awake?"

_Mmm_, was his response.

She sighed and yawned, asking, "What time is it?"

"The sun just began to rise."

"When are we going?"

"Whenever we're ready."

Nemo sighed again and put her head up against his chest. "You're like a friggin' furnace, but I like it that way."

"Like a what?"

"Heat generator. You're always really warm…hot, actually." She opened her eyes, only seeing his white robes. Even through the cloth, she could feel his heartbeat. _God, this guy's heartbeat is so strong that I can still feel it,_ she thought to herself and sighed again, bringing her fist up to her chin.

Now she was just left to wonder: would Altair kill Garnier, or would something 'not go according to the game' and she killed the target?

* * *

**8,345 words, nineteen pages!**

**Again, NO MARY-SUE. They're just really good friends and Altair became really close to her and niyah, I don't need to explain anymore XD**

**Wow. That was gory and I imagine that many of you are profoundly disturbed O_O Image if your dog did that every time someone broke into your house :O**

**BTW, 'Chien enrager' (the thing that the weird guy yelled at Nemo) is French for 'rabid dog,' though it's translated at 'dog rabid.' ****I one time wrote a sentence that went something like this: "Le lutin enrager morbu le danseur de claquettes." It means 'the rabid leprechaun bit the tap dancer XD And 'Zut chien' can mean 'Damn dog!' or 'Darn dog!' That's my little French lesson :)**

**…**

**I'll shut up now.**


	8. Garnier de Naplouse

**Disclaimer: I own not Assassins Creed! I do own Nemo and some other peoples but the game? No, that belongs to…whoever made it…Ubisoft, I think?**

* * *

Altair walked quickly to where the destination was, thinking about how he would kill Garnier in the best low-profile method possible. Walking next to him was Nemo…who was currently thinking of a rubber duck.

"Stay close," Altair warned as they neared a plaza. The skies were still just as gloomy and looming, the smoke was still just as grey, the soot was still just as black, and the people were still just as depressed. Songs of people mourning and weeping were still heard through the building's walls, people still wandered around, wondering what would possibly become of them and their families. It was in these times of anguish and melancholy that hope and relief was dearth, nothing but a mere thought lingering around the tormented minds of the victims, the poor souls who were trapped in a never-ending cycle of misery and destitution.

Nemo was startled when she heard a strange human-made noise. She turned her head in the direction of it and saw an emaciated man walking aimlessly, bones visible from every angle of his body, holding his head in what appeared to be agony. _I remember this,_ she thought to herself, _Those psychotic people in the game were always a pain._ In real life, though, they weren't a pain, for she pitied them. They were in a state of personal hell that no one else could see; people in the Middle Ages had no idea what was 'wrong' with someone who had a mental illness. These people, however, were _sick_, ill from Garnier's 'experiments.' The thought of it sickened Nemo at the stomach. It reminded her of Jak II, when Jak was used as an experiment, but this was _worse_ and this was _real_. They were all damn lab rats! How could someone do something so terrible, so _outlandish?_

Nemo grabbed onto Altair's right arm and clung to him closely. She could feel the heat radiating off of his back as they approached a gate-like structure where several ill-looking people roamed, many gazing up to the sky as if they were looking at a strange creature. It almost appeared as if they were under the influence of hallucinogens….

Both of them were hit suddenly by something-someone, actually-and were knocked to the ground. Nemo semi-caught her balance and was thrown into a stone wall while Altair landed roughly on the ground. _What the hell just happened?_ She thought to herself as she registered what just occurred. She leaned over and offered a hand to Altair, who gripped it tightly as he pulled himself up. She remembered that happening in the game; the psychotic or drunken people always attacked Altair by punching him or lunging at him, but now that it was reality…now that it was all real…they were attacking everyone that got near them.

"You okay?" She asked as he brushed his robes off. He didn't give her a response (he thought that the answer was too obvious) and looked up at the man who was now walking away as if he were drunken.

The duo hastily walked by anyone who appeared as if they might strike them, making their way into a square-like plaza surrounded by stone walls where the majority of the ill-looking people were wandering. Nemo was nervous; she knew exactly what happened. Once they were in the center of the plaza, Nemo stopped walking but still clung to him, forcing him to remain in his tracks. "Wait," she said. Altair didn't say anything; it was obvious that she knew something he didn't. Either that, or she could hear something that he couldn't.

Both of them turned their heads in the direction of the iron gates as they heard a man scream out in terror. "No, help! _Help me_!" He came rushing out from another room. "Help me! Please! You must help me!" He sprinted in a ranom direction but slammed into a guard. Another guard appeared but he continued to fight to get away. They started beating him into submission, eventually forcing him on his knees.

Nemo let go of Altair as a crowd of people formed around the frightened man who was being restrained by a soldier. The soldier was grasping around the man's left wrist, desperately attempting to pull him back and get him under his control. The iron doors opened and Garnier de Naplouse stepped out. He was balding with white hair and had a beak-like nose along with liver spots covering many areas of his body. The white apron that he wore had blood spattered on it, almost as if he had done some sort of weird surgery...or became an ax murderer.

The two soldiers continued to restrict the man.

"Enough, my child!" Garnier said in an utmost fatherly-like tone. How sickening…. "I asked you to retreive the patient, not to kill him!" He looked down at the sickly, young man. "There, there...everything will be alright."

"No, _no!_ Don't touch me! Not again!" He wriggled and squirmed in their grasps.

"Overcome this fear, or else I cannot help you," said Garnier as he bent down to the man.

"Help me? Like you helped the others? You took their souls! I saw, _I saw_! But not mine; no, you will not have mine!"

Garnier raised his hand and backhanded the restrained man. He let out an abrupt scream of surprise and forced himself to keep his gaze on the ground. "Take power of yourself!" Garnier said, then lowered his voice to a mere whisper. "You think this gives me pleasure? You think I _want_ to hurt you? But you leave me no choice."

The shirtless, bony man managed to escape one of the guards but another still had his grip firm around his wrist. The tormented man panicked and tried running into the crowd, attempting to reach someone, _anyone_.

Ever-so fortunate Nemo just so happened to be in the front with Altair. The man almost succeeded in grabbing onto her shirt. Altair had put his arm out in front of her and pushed her back a few paces just to be cautious.

"Every kind word, written on the back of his hand, all lies and deception! He won't be content until all bow before him!" By this time, the other guard had grabbed onto him and both of them forced him on his knees again in front of Garnier.

"You should not have done that," Garnier said in a warning tone, "Return him to his quarters. I'll be there once I-"

"You can't keep me here! I'll escape again!"

"No, you won't. Break his legs, both of them."

Nemo buried her face in Altair arm and clung onto him tightly. Even when she played the game in her basement with Markoh she would recoil at the animation of them breaking the man's legs. Even though the game was fake, she still had the same reaction. It was just more…_intense_…in real life.

The man scream out in fright. There was a loud and sickening _crack_ as the soldiers broke both of his legs by stepping on them with enough force. Both tibias and both fibulas snapped in half, immobilizing the poor soul. They then dragged him off to wherever he came from and left everyone's sight. Even when he was gone, his cries could still be heard.

"Have you nothing better to do?" Garnier said to the crowd.

The throng dispersed, but the thought still lingered in everyone's minds.

"Nemo, are you alright?" Altair asked.

"I'm fine," she said and pulled herself away from him. "Come on, we don't have much time."

For a moment, Altair was considering leaving her there and have her wait for him, then when he returned she could get both of them out of there quickly (thanks to the experience in Damascus), but he quickly realized that it obviously wasn't safe. Nemo wouldn't kill anyone innocent and it was obvious that she understood that these people were sick, not evil. If they attacked her, she would just run away, then the plan would be ruined. So, without having any other choice, he ordered her to follow him.

"As soon as I kill him, turn into a wolf and _run_, just make sure that I'm with you," he said.

"Alright. I'm the getaway for two." She wanted to use the word 'vehicle' but he wouldn't have understood.

They neared Garnier, Nemo deciding to hang back and watch. The anxiety was almost too much to bear, but she kept her cool. It's best to loose it when running away. It makes escaping more effective.

Altair approached Garnier from behind. He extended his hidden blade, overhearing what he was saying.

"There, there," said Garnier. "You shouldn't hurt any more."

"Lies! All lies! Why do you do this?"

"For many reasons. For the better of everyone,"

"Better? What better? Look at what you're doing, at what _you've_ become!"

"What I've become?" Garnier turned around for a moment…right as Altair began to plunge the hidden blade forward.

Garnier was quick; he caught Altair's arm and diverted the attack, then punched the man in the stomach.

_Ah, shit, when do things ever go to plan?_ Nemo thought as chaos ensued.

Altair caught Garnier's arm from hitting him again, then twisted the man around into the pillar. Garnier kicked his foot upward and hit his opponent, then slammed him into the adjacent stone pillar. The assassin attempted to slice Garnier's throat open but had his blow moved off to the side despite its power.

Garnier rose his fist and swung at his enemy's head. Altair ducked quickly and punched him a few times in the stomach, attempting to bring him to his knees. He felt the air in his lungs go out in a loud _whoosh_ as Garnier knocked him off balance and forced him onto the floor. The man took out his sword, ready to stab Altair.

The assassin was quick and sprinted to a wall that he knew that he could climb. He ran up it, then as Garnier approached, kicked off of the wall and latched onto a sturdy pillar. The soldiers then began to pour in from all sides. For a brief moment, he looked around for Nemo, but didn't see her anywhere. He didn't have time to speculate as he let go of the pillar and fell to the ground again.

He drew his sword, a loud _shlink_ coming from it as the metal was pulled out of its sheath. The assassination attempt was completely blown…he just hoped that if Garnier escaped, Nemo would catch him.

He jumped over a sword and stabbed a soldier in the neck with his dagger, wheeling around to stab another man. For a few seconds, they blocked each other's blow, but Altair bent down quickly and stabbed the man in the foot, catching him off guard. The brief moment allowed him to turn the dagger upside-down and drive it into the man's skull. He swiftly turned around and grabbed a throwing knife, forcing it to soar through the air and hit another soldier in the stomach. He brought up his dagger and threw another attacking soldier off guard. He grasped the man by the chest and slammed him down against the table, using his dagger to slit the throat clean open.

Soon enough, five men were down, then six, then seven, and then once the eleventh fell, Garnier turned to flee, realizing that he wasn't powerful enough to defeat Altair. His opponent just took down _eleven_ well-trained knights without even getting so much as a drop of blood on himself.

He chased after Garnier, the old man being almost as equally fast as him.

Then, just when he needed her, the lycanthrope jumped down from overhead. Boy, was she angry as hell.

Her intention was now obvious; just stop Garnier and let Altair kill him. Her jumping down was enough of a surprise to stop Garnier in his tracks, ultimately allowing Altair to plunge the hidden blade in the man's neck.

_One evil bastard down_, she thought to herself and trotted over to him while they spoke to each other.

"Let go your burden," Altair said, holding the now-dying man in his arms.

"Well...I rest now, yes? The endless dreams calls for me...but before I close my eyes, I must know; what will become of my children?"

"You mean the people made to suffer your cruel experiments?" Altair said with a slight edge to his voice. "They'll be free now to return to their homes."

"Homes? What homes? The sewers? The brothels? The prisons that we freed them from?"

"You took these people against their will."

"Yes, what little will there was for them to have. Are you really so naive? Do you appease a crying child simply because he wills? 'I want to play with fire, Father.' What would you say? 'As you wish.' Ah, then you answer for his burns."

"These are not children, but men and women full-grown."

"In body, perhaps, but not in mind, whch is the very damage I sought to repair. I admit, without the Piece of Eden, which you stole from us, my progress was slowed. But there are herbs, mixtures, and extracts. My guards are proof of this; they were madmen before I found and freed them from the prisons of their own minds." He let out a long sigh. "And with my death, madmen they will be again."

"You truly believe you are helping them."

"It's not what I believe...it's...what I know..." Garnier's grip on Altair's arm loosened and his eyes closed as he passed away. Altair took out the feather and smeared it in his target's blood, then placed it back in his pouch.

"Altair, we've gotta go _now_," Nemo said in a stern and somewhat urgent voice as soldiers began to chase after them, bellowing out a million names all at once. The bells began to ring widely, letting the entire city know that someone was just assassinated.

As the wolf turned around, he leapt up onto her back like how he would with Seema from behind and took hold of her fur as she sped away.

_Great, here comes the cavalry,_ Nemo thought to herself as the chase theme from the game's soundtrack started to play itself through her head. "Hang on tighter!" She yelled as she jumped over a platoon of soldiers, easily scaling their heads. The soldiers instinctively ducked even though she was far above them, landing down on all fours once she hit the stone road.

She swerved left and right through the multitudes of people, her long, fluffy tail acting as a balance for her body. "God, I hate people! Why are they always in the way?" She barked once and ran up a building as if she were running on the ground.

"Kill it! Kill that demon!" A soldier yelled and shot an arrow.

The wolf sprinted across the rooftops, swiftly going up and down with the different buildings. She was running at a good forty miles an hour when a whole rainfall of arrows came swarming at them like a hive of angry bees. In order to escape the arrows, she jumped off of the building's top and onto a road.

Altair had difficulty hanging on as she jumped over the crowds. He tightened his grip, only to have himself nearly flung off as Nemo swiped her paw at a guard, killing him from the crushing impact. "You need to hang on tighter!" She said as she rose to her hind legs, using her front legs to cut her way through a group of soldiers that was too large for her to just simply jump over (they were spread out rather widely). Altair did as instructed and was thankful for it as well, for when she started running again, he was almost forced off of her.

Her powerful muscles shifted steadily underneath her skin as she brought her legs forward and back, forward and back…a perpetual motion that remained to be deemed as uncommon and unusual for any horse rider. Each stride of her legs was a low-to-the-ground leap of thirty feet. When she brought up her paws to reach forward to start another stride, she remained a good five feet off of the ground.

Without anywhere else to go, she ran up a wall, her curved, dagger-like claws catching onto the grooves in the building's stones, causing small sparks of fire to fly from the friction.

With a grunt, she kicked her hind legs and came out upon the building's rooftop. She continued to go faster and faster until she heard a batch of rooftop guards. She turned her head in the direction of their voices and jumped as they shot arrows at her. She swiveled her head around again and saw another archer about a hundred feet away. She turned sharply from the left to right to avoid the oncoming arrows. Once she was close enough, she killed the archer with a swipe of her paw and jumped over a gap in between the buildings. She needed some quick way to loose the soldiers; she couldn't just kill them all off, she could only get the ones that were in her way. The stress of the situation came down upon her as she realized just how difficult it was to get them off of her tail.

"Brace yourself, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" She yelled and jumped down the sixty-foot tall building into a narrow passageway, using her right paw and her right hind leg to 'slide' down the wall in order to avoid injuring her ankles. She thought that the road would have been empty, but just as fate would have it, soldiers came running in from both sides. With her teeth bared, the wolf ran sideways alongside the wall, baffling the soldiers as she ran over them. Once she passed them, she returned back to the ground and continued sprinting for the next five minutes.

She turned to a narrow alleyway that blocked out the sun's rays. She slowed down her pace and panted, lapping up water from a puddle on the ground.

Altair dismounted her and commented after a while, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" She turned her eyes up at him, still lapping up the much-needed water with her pink tongue.

"Run sideways across the wall like that?"

"Same way how I run up one," she brought her head up from the puddle and panted, leaning her hot body against the shaded alleyway's cool stone. "I need a moment to rest."

* * *

Altair jumped down first (as usual) and landed in the Assassin's Bureau, making his way to the rafiq.

"What news, Altair?" Again, the rafiq pronounced his name as 'Altayee.'

"Garnier is dead." Altair showed the feather as proof…pft, as if the rafiq wouldn't believe him….

"Ah, yes, and I trust that you were the one who stained your blade?"

"Yes."

"Then you should retrn to Masyaf with news of your victory," the rafiq said as he grabbed a book from beneath the counter and placed it on the countertop.

"There is something else."

"Speak it, then. Or would you have me read your mind?"

"What do you think he wanted from these people? That he would keep them and experiment on them as he did?"

"Yours is not to ask, but _act_, Altair. It doesn't matter what he did or why; only that he's dead."

"But Garnier seemed to believe he was helping these people."

"Is that what you saw?"

"No. What I saw was not a place of healing, but of pain."

"Then why are we having this conversation?"

"I...I don't know. Forget I spoke it."

"I already have."

"I need you to do me a favor," Aktair said.

Nemo rose her eyebrows. _Favor? This wasn't in the game._

"What is it, then? Quit speaking like you're expecting an immediate reply."

"Do have any meat, poultry, preferably?"

"I...do not believe that we do. May I ask why?"

"Then would you mind if I left to fetch one?"

He seemed confused but said, "If you wish to do so, I suppose."

"Poultry?" Nemo said to him. He just glanced at her. "You're on to something, aren't you?"

* * *

By the time the Altair returned Nemo was already back into her human formed. Nemo stood up to greet him and immediately saw that he was holding a bundle of three plucked (and headless) chickens, all tied together at the feet.

_I don't believe it,_ Nemo thought and mentally smiled to herself. _He knew I was craving chicken. I guess it pays off to be a good dog. Erm…wolf…._

Altair cut the string to one of the chickens and held it out to Nemo. He was startled when she bit onto it quickly and swallowed the entire bird whole with a rather ravenous appetite. "Whoa!" Altair exclaimed and jumped backwards, proceeding to say something in Arabic.

The rafiq lookd up with a quizzical expression.

Nemo sat down on the ground like a dog and looked up at him with puppy-like eyes. It felt wonderful to finally be eating chicken again…every time they passed by them it was torture for her, especially if they were live and moving.

Altair-somewhat unsure of whether or not she would bite his hand-carefully held out the next one. He sucked in his breath and pulled his hand back as she bit onto it. _Good God, _he thought to himself. _I hope she doesn't bite _me_._ The next one she ate just as quickly.

"I honestly don't think that I can thank you enough, Altair," she said and stood up, her tail wagging. It was odd (from Altair's point of view) to see her as a human and still have a tail.

"You deserve it," he said and ruffled her hair. "Just don't bite my hand."

"I would _never_ bite your hand." She followed him into the next room.

* * *

Nemo glanced up at Altair again and then back down to her paper, trying to draw him the best she could while he read _City of Bones_, the first book in the _Mortal Instruments_ series. "May I ask what a nightclub is?" He asked without looking up at her.

"It's a club that's…open at night. Um…I really don't know. I've never been to one, but people in my country generally stay up rather late. I'm just glad it's not a friggin' strip club in that book."

"A what?"

"You _don't_ wanna know." She started shading in the bottom of his robes now. It was difficult to do so in the limited amount of light, especially since she was using a regular B2 pencil. She knew that it looked better in the dark…once there was enough light, it would probably look terrible with outlines that appeared to be etched in rather than drawn in and shading that made him look black. The thought of it somewhat disappointed her, but she didn't want to loose any artistic ability she already had. "Hey, could you shift your foot to the left, please?"

He looked up at her.

"I said your foot, not half of your body," she said with a pout on her face. Altair just raised one eyebrow. "Oh come on, you're really fun to draw."

"How am I 'fun to draw?'"

"Because I can actually _draw_ you. All of my other people look like demented stick figures. Well, okay, not literally, but can you go back to the position that you were just in?"

Altair smirked a bit and shook his head as he looked back down at the book.

"Great, now you made me mess up." She used her eraser to make a lighter shading.

"I still do not understand why."

"I also like you, so that also helps me with drawing. Well actually…I guess that's not entirely accurate. I tried to draw a wolf pack one time and I love wolves but it was just _terrible_. I'm sure you saw it?"

"I wouldn't call it terrible,"

"But it was bad."

Now that it was getting too dark for them to read or draw, they put their supplies away and laid down on the sea of pillows.

…_if only Altair didn't smell bad…_Nemo thought as he put his arms behind his head. …and _if only deodorant was made in the Third Crusade. I wonder what I smell like to them…do I smell like a wet dog if I'm wet? Why do dogs even get that smell? Ugh, why am I even thinking this?_ She closed her eyes and laughed silently to herself, putting her head on his shoulder. They both sighed at the same time. "That was simultaneous." Nemo commented and felt (not heard) Altair chuckle a bit.

* * *

By the time Nemo awoke it was already bright inside of the room. Altair was lying on his side with his arm underneath the pillow that he was using, his free arm around Nemo. She wondered if he knew that he gave her a sense of protection.

Upon seeing that he appeared to be still sleeping, she sighed once and brought her arm underneath her head. She heard the rafiq descend the stairs. She couldn't see him, but she knew that he was looking at both of them. Ugh, she hated it whenever people did something like that. Yes, they're _friends_, not so surprising especially after he fed her three chickens. "Pst, Altair," she said, "You awake?" When she got no response, she rose her left fist and punched him on the shoulder.

"I'm awake." He said in a low voice without opening his eyes.

"I have a feeling that you've been awake…" The smirk gave away the answer. He turned over onto his back and sat upright. "Are leaving for Masyaf today? Because if not, then I'm going to punch you in the face."

"We're leaving for Masyaf today," he said. "And please don't do that."

"It's called a 'jest.'" She stood up and stretched her arms, yawning. "Oh, it's just lovely laying on a carpet as soft as granite." She muttered on about random things and was caught off guard as Altair threw her miniature backpack over to her. She nearly tumbled over and exclaimed, "Hey, I wasn't even looking!"

He didn't seem to pay attention to her as he grabbed a loaf of bread and an assortment of fruits, tossing her the bread.

* * *

Seema didn't seem too gleeful to see either of them, but she obeyed Altair and began the four-day trip back to Masyaf. At least Seema's saddle wasn't as 'soft' as granite; instead, it was just as comfortable as concrete. How wonderful.

The days were spent of mostly riding and avoiding any soldiers or camps; any bandits would have soon met their death if they preyed upon them so if any appeared, they wouldn't be bothering them for very long. The fires that they lit scared away any snakes and spiders, so they remained safe during the nights.

* * *

They arrived at the gates of Masyaf about four and a half days later.

Nemo dismounted Seema and brushed off her clothes. Masyaf was dusty and full of sand, and on top of that, there wasn't even a cloud in the sky, so the sun was beating down on everything.

They still got odd glares from the other assassins and soldiers. It appeared definite that they would get odd glares anywhere that they went, especially considered that the others deemed Altair as an ingrate, but they didn't know the true him. Nemo tried not to let it bother her and attempted to look forward to sleeping in a bed and have a bowl of hot chicken soup. Or better yet, a raw chicken, still with the guts and blood inside and feathers attached on the outside.

"-so yeah, the Inuyasha guy was like this dog-demon guy even though I think that he looks like a cat because of his ears but he also has really baggy pants and if they were white I would call him 'powder pants' which reminds me that I still think your pants look like bags of powder so-" She continued chatting on about random things, throwing an insult here-and-there about Altair (but in a playful manner). Only when they passed the gate into the fortress courtyard did she become quiet, either because she had nothing else to speak of or she didn't want the other assassins to hear her. Somehow, she was content in a way, with a small smile on her face and eyes focused on the ground as if she were thinking about something positive. She couldn't even figure out _why_ she was happy, she just was.

"Master," Altair addressed as they both walked into the middle of the room.

"Come in Altair."

They both walked closer to his desk.

"Hmm, and how did Nemo do?"

"Good." She said and smiled. He examined her for a moment. "Is…there a problem? Lycanthropes are good in heat…."

"No, I was just merely thinking. Both of you have done well; three of the nine lay dead, and for this you have my thanks."

That sent shivers up Nemo's spine.

"But do not think to rest upon your morrows," Al Mualim said and sat down on the wooden crate in front of his desk, "Your work has just begun."

"I am yours to command, Master."

"King Richard, emboldened by his victory in Acre, prepares to move south towards Jerusalem. Saladin is surely aware of this, and so he gathers his men before the broken citadel of Arsuf."

"Would you have me kill them both then? And their war before it begins in earnest?"

_KILL KING RICHARD? You're over your head, Altair,_ Nemo thought and nearly rolled her eyes.

"No," Al Mualim said, "To do so would scatter their forces and subject the lands to the bloodlust of ten thousand aimless warriors. It will be many days before they meet, and while they march, they do not fight. You must concern yourself with more immediate things; the men who pretend to govern in their absence."

"Give me names and I'll give you blood."

"So I will. Abu'l Nuqoud, the wealthiest man in Damascus, Majd Addin, regent of Jerusalem, William of Montferrat, liege-lord of Acre."

"And their crimes are...?" Nemo said.

"_Greed_, arrogance, the slaughter of innocents. Walk amongst the people of their cities; you'll learn the secrets of their sins. Do not doubt that these men are obstacles to the peace we seek."

"Then they will die."

"Another of your items is restored. Take it; see that it is put to good use. Return to me as each man falls, and we might better understand their intentions." He walked over to the bird cage and released three trapped avians. "And Altair, as well as you, Nemo; take care. No doubt the work that has been committed has attracted the attention of the city guard."

"Great, they'll be more suspiscious...oh, ever-so-lucky us." Nemo said with a sig and crossed her arms.

"You must include Nemo within the credit, as well." He said, surprising both of them. "She has helped me profoundly."

"You have caught my interest, Altair. May I ask what this wolf did?"

"She allowed us to get away from the soldiers several times in speed impossible for any human, she has slain many corrupted soldiers. You must commend her, as well."

"I see that you two have grown close." Al Mualim observed. "You are a wolf, Nemo. Tell me, what do you think of this? Following Altair?"

"That depends. Ever since wolf first sat down next to man by the campfire, there's always been an inseparable bond. But…why are _you_ asking this?"

"Because I have received several letters explaining in great detail of butchery that was very similar to the soldiers on the road soon after your arrival."

"Oh, _son of a_…" She said, pronouncing the last words more as 'sunuva.' She brought a hand up to her head and sighed, looking at the rafters in the ceiling. "Yeah, the would have been me."

"The remains of over seventy men were discovered if you total all of the numbers from every incident." Al Mualim informed.

Nemo looked at him and dropped her arm. "…seventy…?" It took her a moment to register the number. "Whoa…I didn't know that it was that much…."

"You were protecting yourself and me, Nemo. You did what had to be done." Altair said.

"Yeah, I know, but…_seventy_?" She suddenly became saddened. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over at Altair. _How could it be so easy, though?_ She thought to herself.

Altair glanced at Al Mualim. He knew that it was more than seventy, but he wouldn't bring it up. He had actually lost count as to how many kills Nemo has done, but she has managed to kill seventy in two weeks where getting to fifty to for him took two _years_. He's taken many lives all in the sake of protecting the innocents, and he has succeeded in protecting them, as well, but what about the lycanthrope? What about _her_? Would she kill someone innocent if her instinct perceived it as a threat? She was easily gaining up on his number of kills, but he knows that he hasn't seen everything yet. All of her gruesome tactics of battle were only a few, and just the beginning of a seemingly perpetual list that would show even _worse_ ways of killing. Splattering someone was already bad enough; in fact, it even intensely disturbed Altair, a man who was perhaps one of the most skilled in the arts of killing. He _knew_ that there was more she could do. He _knew_ that he hadn't seen her full potential.

If she ever did use all of her power, then it would be a bloodbath beyond compression.

* * *

They didn't say anything as they descended the stairs and walked out into the courtyard.

"Nemo! Nemo!" Jafar yelled and ran over to the werewolf.

Nemo turned her head in the direction of the boy and was startled when he threw his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. "You're finally back! You've been gone forever!"

"Hey, it's good to see you, too," She said and ruffled the boy's hair.

"You said that you would be gone for a week, but it's been nine days." He let go of her.

"Yeah, well…some things occurred."

"Like what?"

"Things you probably don't need to know." She smiled and knelt down to his level. "But on the other hand, I probably smell really bad, so I need to take a bath." She playfully tapped him on the nose.

"Okay, just be out in time for dinner."

"I will." She stood back up as he ran away, waving at her. She waved back and then turned around to Altair. "What? He's my friend."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were looking at me oddly."

"Is that really a reason?"

"Go choke a lizard," she said with a smile of amusement as they walked back to his quarters.

Upon walking into the room, Nemo flopped herself down on the bed and said, "Ah, it feels really good to have a bed again." She put her hands behind her head and sighed, listening to Altair put his weapons down. His robes made a rustling noise as he set them aside, now wearing a dark-green tunic and black pants. He did have a rather handsome figure, with the chiseled features and everything (one of the reasons why Nemo takes so much joy in drawing him). He was naturally muscular, not freakishly muscular like the men in many magazines. His short, black hair was a rather rare sight to see, as well. He always wore his hood so that others wouldn't notice the discoloration in his eyes (or the fact that they shone a great amount), but perhaps he sometimes doesn't need to worry about it….

Altair threw a white shirt at her along with a pair of grey pants. She caught them and said, "This shirt is going to be a dress on me."

"It's the smallest one I have."

"If only I were a little taller…." She stood up, sounding somewhat bummed. "Thanks in advance." She followed him out of the room. They passed a group of soldiers who-for some reason-snickered at the sight of them. Nemo caught onto it quickly and wheeled around, saying, "How 'bout I make a particularly peculiar jest about the majesty of gravity and inertia and the distance of a bound of kangaroo and their distance from a saguaro?" _That made absolutely no sense. Well, that was the point._

The soldiers stopped and looked at her oddly, perplexed by the strange statements.

"My point is made and I stand corrected." She turned back around and caught up with Altair.

"What did you say?" He asked.

"Gibberish. It works every time. Sometimes, if there were bratty cliques at my school and they approached me, I would take out my phone and pretend to be talking to someone and often I said something like, 'he has _what_ kind of disease? Oh, you're kidding me, _that_? ELEVEN DAYS?' and yeah, they would leave me alone. I would also say _'Le lutin enrage et stupide mordu et vomit sur le danseur de claquettes_' if they were in Spanish or reading class."

"What does that mean?"

"The rapid and stupid leprechaun bit and vomited on the tap dancer." She chuckled a bit. "It's so easy to scare them away. I scared away all of my 'potential suitors' and when I did so, I was like, FREEDOM and then they never bothered me again and then I-" And so she goes on and on until they reached the bathhouses where they departed.

Upon settling in the warm water, Nemo relaxed herself. "This feels really good after nine days…." She kneeled down on the hot water and wet her hair, cleaning her thin body with the soap that was available. She was thin enough that anyone could see the white knobs of her spine sticking out from her back. Her shoulder blades looked almost as if they were sucking in the flesh, causing them to look as if they were cavities. Her hips were also somewhat strange; it was as if-much like with her shoulder blades-the flesh was being pulled in, causing a strange-looking inward 'C.'

She opened her eyes when she heard a rustling noise behind her. She turned around, and, upon seeing nothing, shrugged her shoulders and settled herself back in the water. When she heard it again, she went still and remained very quiet, trying to listen for even the faintest of noises. Now, slightly freaked out, she stepped out of the hot water and grabbed her towel, drying herself off speedily before throwing on her clothes.

A glint caught her eye on the marble counter, causing her to look over at it. She saw a small coin, probably about as big as an American quarter, sitting near the edge. Once one of her fingers touched it, she immediately drew back as she felt a wave of pain throughout her hand. She sucked in her breath as the pain faded away and looked down at her finger tips; it looked like they had been burnt, but the coin wasn't hot. Perplexed and bemused, she hastily walked out of the bathhouse and purposely 'grew' her tail out, closing the door with it.

"Alright, that was freaky," she stated and looked down at her hand where the black mark began to fade away. It didn't hurt anymore, but she was now left to wonder. "Okay, so I'll just wait on the bed…probably listen to music or something, most likely draw…and then I'll go have dinner with Altair and Jafar. That sounds like a plan." She said to herself, then stopped in her tracks as a shadow appeared over her. She looked up and saw a tall man dressed in black pants and a brown shirt, peering down at her. _I hate being short_, she thought as she said, "Umm…excuse me, mister…?"

"Hmm. Judging by the tail, you must be Nemo."

"Yes, I'm Nemo. Who're you?"

After smiling creepily down at her, he said, "My name is Akrim." Something about that smile sent chills up her spine. "I just thought that I would formally introduce myself." He held out a hand to her.

Uncertain, she extended her free hand (she was holding her dirty clothes) and shook his.

"So, tell me, how long have you been with Altair?"

"_With_?" She was silent for a while as she shrank back a bit. "Um…a month, I think? M-maybe less?"

"Hmm, that's interesting. So what are you? A pet?"

Nemo, for once, didn't come back with a retort or an insult. Instead, she just said in a quiet voice, "Yeah…I'm his pet." She felt fear creep it's way up into each individual vertebrae of her back and neck.

Akrim just smiled. "Well then, go be a good pet." He passed her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened up and became ridged as the hand fell off of her and he walked away from her presence.

Completely freaked out, she ran to the courtyard. _I just met a completely freaky creepy pervert._ She felt safer once she was amongst the other assassins as she made her way up to Altair's room.

Right when Altair walked into the room, she threw her arms around him and exclaimed, "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG." Altair was surprised and dropped the bundle of clothes that he was holding.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"Some weird creepo just came up to me when I left the bathhouse and acted very strangely. He said his name was Akrim." She let go of him.

"Akrim?" A frown formed on his face. "What did he say to you?"

"He was just like 'oh hi, I'm Akrim' except he said it in a very creepy and somewhat seductive manner and then called me your pet. And he touched me. That was creepy."

"Stay right here," Altair ordered and turned around, leaving the room.

Nemo sighed relief and laid back down on the bed.

* * *

Altair found Akrim rather easily; he was speaking with two other people near the wooden posts that were on the incline to the library. He began to speed-walk up to him, subconsciously appearing intimidating. Akrim spotted Altair and turned around, opening his mouth to say, "Altair, I ha-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, for Altair punched him in the mouth, then grabbed onto his back and punched him twice. He then slammed him into the wooden fence front-side down, pinning him with his own body. "Stay away from Nemo," he hissed into Akrim's ear and roughly let go of him, knocking him to the ground. "If I ever catch you near her again, I'll kill you," Everyone was surprised and speechless-almost baffled-then parted a path for Altair as he marched away, satisfied with Akrim being in pain.

He was truthful, as well. It doesn't take that much for him to kill someone as low-lived as Akrim.

As the door opened, Nemo immediately said, "Let me guess; you beat the crap outta him?"

"I believe I understand that statement, so yes, I did. He shouldn't bother you again."

"Thank you," she replied and sat upright, "Really, thanks. I'll repay you somehow."

"Just stay away from him."

"Will do so." She stood up and playfully punched him on the shoulder as he put the bundle away.

Altair just turned around and smirked, saying, "You really are short."

"I'M FUN-SIZED, YOU CACTUS-LOVIN' BAG OF POLITICIANS!" She hit him on the shoulder again.

"And that shirt is indeed like a dress on you,"

"You moron!" She said, dragging out the last word as she brought him into a headlock and noogied him with her left fist. "You friggin' faggot, go take a long walk off a short pier and then get a tattoo of a butterfly because then it'll turn into a pterodactyl and I hope you get sunburned, POWDER PANTS!" She then let out a whole list of insults, one of them being, "YOU'RE A RUBBER DUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A HERD OF OKAPIS!" Another one was a very peculiar insult involving a man named Joe Biden and a woman named Sarah Palin along with someone else named Stephen Colbert.

She started laughing and let go of him, then noticed that he was chuckling softly with a warm smile across his face. That smile…it's not a smile he does every day. In fact, it was a _real_ smile, one that he hasn't experienced ever since he was a very young boy.

Altair playfully but gently slapped her upside the head and made his way towards the door, only to have Nemo jump up on his back and nearly make both of them tumble out of the room. "Now you have to carry me all the way down, powder pants."

He tried to wipe the smile off of his face, but he just couldn't. It was impossible with Nemo. He quit trying to suppress the smile and just _smiled_, even _laughing_ a bit as he was forced to carry the werewolf down into the courtyard. Everyone else thought that it was very odd to see him koala-carrying her and gave both of them very strange looks, but they allowed them to do that. They don't care anymore. No one will interrupt them, especially if they're just playing and having fun.

Once they reached the bottom, Nemo leapt off of him and said, "Alright, if there was one other person I would do a complete and total dogpile." She said.

"A what?"

"Hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"You're smiling." Her smile widened as he said,

"I know." He then gently pushed her on the shoulder sprinted away.

"Hey, get back here, powder pants!" She started chasing after him. Even though she was faster than him, he was extremely hard to catch, especially since he was using people as shields and obstacles. Then he turned a corner and ran straight through the library and into the gardens. It was an odd sight for the assassins that were already there…seeing this random guy come running through at full speed. Then Nemo sprinted in, yelling, "Get back here!" and they got the image.

They chased each other back and forth throughout the gardens. Eventually, Nemo finally managed to catch him but accidentally tripped both of them. They fell to the ground, then started laughing as they panted and sweated.

In the grass, they both rolled onto their backs and grasped each other's hand. "Hey, let's be friends forever," Nemo said and looked over at him. Altair's smile only widened as said,

"I would like that very much."

**

* * *

**

About 7,981 words, 19 pages :D

**Oh, that's such a heartwarming thing at the end :D It proves that they both really are friends, especially if Altair is willing to make a fool of himself.**

**I had quite a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter, so I hope that you caught all of it.**

**Oh yeah, the French thing that Nemo...I really hope that I got that right. I couldn't get the _l'accent aigu _(or is it _l'accent grave_, because I always confuse those two) because I don't know how to get it to work on a computer. I don't think that there's a translation website that could put 'rapid' in the past tense so that I could copy and paste the '****e' so please just pretend that there's an accent mark over the last 'e.'**

**Well, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. This is really fun to write :)**


	9. Incontrovertibly Disclosed Clandestine

**Cactus-loving bag of politicians XD**

**I don't own the lyrics to any of the songs mentioned and I obviously don't own a band. You probably wouldn't want to hear me sing XD And again, I do not own Assassins Creed. I only own Nemo, Jafar, and some other characters.**

**Oh yeah, and this chapter also has quite a big of dialogue in it. The next one won't have as much, so I had said once before, if you don't like a lot of dialogue, sorry!**

**WOOT!**

* * *

Nemo sang along with the lyrics to 'Ghost Opera' from Kamelot as she played the song on her phone. "Welcome all to curtain fall, at opera. Singing all the…forces in my mind? Ah, I don't know the lyrics." She began to hum along to the tune as an alternative.

"Those instruments are very strange," Altair commented. "What are they?"

"The loud one that's playing right now is called an electric guitar. Again, another thing powered by electricity. Those right there are violins, then there's the drum set and the age-old human voices. We have a lot of instruments where I come from." She turned the volume down a bit, scratching underneath her collar.

"Where did you get that collar? I've been meaning to ask for quite some time now."

"My collar? It was bought at a pet store. It's only for decoration, like how a man would wear earrings or a girl would wear a necklace." She rattled the metal tags on it. "I got the tags at a cheap knockoff thrift shop. All three were just fifty cents. This one's a wolf, this one's a dragon, and this one's a moon." She let go of the thick metal tags and changed the song on the phone to 'Gone with the Sin.' "My collar's very special to me, though. Which is why if I ever for some reason die before you do, you're gonna take my collar whether you want to or not." She said with a smile and somewhat as a jest.

"I've also been meaning to ask you if werewolves live longer than humans."

"Yeah…actually." She quieted down her tone and half-closed her eyes. "Werewolves almost always live longer than people. I heard of a record of a werewolf living past three hundred years. He didn't die of old age, though."

"Then how did he?"

"He was depressed because he realized that everyone he cared for had died so he poisoned himself and then jumped off of a cliff into a frozen lake." She could tell that Altair was slightly surprised, maybe even disturbed. "I wouldn't want to live that long. I mean, all of your friends and family and possibly children would be dead. I would only want to live that long if one of my friends had a family and I was helping take care of them. Then when they died, I would still be with their children, and then they would have children and then so on and so forth. I wouldn't be an heirloom or anything, just a member of the family that lives freakishly long. Why? Were you wondering if I would live shorter?"

"Since dogs don't seem to live very long."

"Oh, well…they're dogs, not lycanthropes. Real wolves don't actually live too long, either. When they're in the wild, it's usually an average of about ten years, maybe a little longer. "

There was a knock on the door.

Nemo stopped the music from playing and hid the phone underneath her leg as Altair stood up and opened it, not saying anything as he saw that it was another assassin.

"Altair, the Master wishes to see you. He does not want Nemo to come along."

He glanced at Nemo for a moment, then left and closed the door.

"Ah great, alone again." She took out her phone and started listening to the song again.

* * *

"Altair," Al Mualim said as the white-robed assassin approached him. He didn't seem very happy.

"Is there something wrong, Master?"

"May I ask why you attacked Akrim? I am positive you remember, seeing that it was just before dinner today."

"Nemo told me that he had bothered her."

"And is that a reason to attack him?"

_I'm being scolded like a child._ "He had touched her, that's reason enough." Altair tensed himself slightly. _If there's anyone who can touch her, it's me and Jafar…and possibly Malik._

Al Mualim was silent for a while. "You must remember the C_reed_, Altair; stay your blade from the blood of innocents, hide in plain sight, and never compromise the Brotherhood."

"I did not compromise the brotherhood, I was-"

"It will _not_ be tolerated. Your arrogance knows no limits, Altair. You truly are nothing but a mere child."

"I was protecting Nemo," he said at last.

"I have seen what she is capable of doing. I am sure that she can protect herself, Altair. It is _you_ that I assigned to look _after_, not _for_."

"I had every right to attack Akrim. I-"

"You are both children, especially after that ridiculous stunt you did with her."

"May I ask what you are referring to?"

"A children's game you have indeed played. You are straying away from your ord-"

"I've become responsible for her." He said in a stern voice. "She is young and on top of that, she is a wolf, and she is dangerous. I understand that you've ordered me to keep watch, and I do not understand why, but if I did just that then she would have surely left by now."

"Then what? How do you _feel_ for her, if you are willing to attack another one of your own brothers?"

Altair was silent, not willing to say anything. He knew that the other assassins beneath on the lower floors could hear everything that was being said, and not only that, but Al Mualim's voice was loud enough that even the women in the garden could probably hear the argument, as well. Not to mention the other men rummaging around for books in the shelves.

"No response?"

"I…" He couldn't bring himself to say what he was thinking…not with others around to hear. The silence that ensued was painful and long as both of them waited for the other speak. Or rather, they were both waiting for _himself_ to speak.

"What? How _much_ do you feel for her?"

_I wish that Nemo were here. She would have said what I'm thinking many moments ago. _"…I…" Again, he couldn't say it. One simple word that he hasn't said since he was eight years old. Then his mind found an alternative and he wasted no time in saying it. "She is my best friend, Master." He felt his mouth going dry. Too many ears were hearing this. "She came to me because she was frightened by someone. She won't kill a member of the Brotherhood."

"A friend? The deemed cold-hearted ingrate now has a _friend_?"

"Would you prefer I say 'daughter?'" He definitely caught everyone off guard, including himself. He wanted to slap his hand over his mouth. _Did I honestly just say that_?

Al Mualim smiled as he leaned over his desk. "A daughter? Then, perhaps you are just taking responsibilities." He could clearly see the surprised expression on Altair's face. "You are free to go, then."

Altair said nothing and quickly marched away. No one else needed to hear the latter and he knew that he had accidentally elevated his voice just enough so that _everyone_ in the building would have heard. He noticed the looks the other assassins were giving him. He had trained himself not to care about what others thought of him, but for some reason the argument etched away at just enough of that shell to allow himself to care. But every face that they saw appeared to be surprised.

Rumors were going to be spread, no doubt.

* * *

Nemo heard the door open and stood up. "What'd he want?"

"Nothing important," he answered.

"Okay then…I guess…. It wasn't about Akrim, was it?"

Altair looked over at her. "What gives you these assumptions?"

"THAT FAGGOT." She said rather loudly and dropped her arms. "I swear, I am going to break into his room and strangle him in his sleep, that pathetic lowlife pervert who needs to seriously get a life and should be choked _by_ a lizard." She clenched her fists together and squinted her eyes at the wall.

"As colorful as that death sounds, it's nothing to worry about."

"Sorry, this is all my fault."

"Don't blame anyone, especially yourself. You did the right thing."

"I am going to dismember that faggoty moron's jaw and then I'll feel it to a group of hungry ducks!" She felt her anger die down. "Hah…okay, I feel better." Feeling slightly embarrassed, she attempted to alter the subject. "Um…what was the name of the next guy we have to go after?"

"Abu'l Nuqoud."

_The rich fat guy! _Nemo's mind screamed. _I remember that now! Ugh, things are going to get _really_ ugly because I hate that guy._ "Are we leaving tomorrow?"

"Early in the morning. It'll be quicker that way. I managed to get you your own horse, so perhaps the time with be shortened."

"Awesome! What's her name?"

"Him, and we called him Fath."

"Fath? Cool." Her invisible tail wagged.

The rest of the day they spent running errands mostly for the women in the kitchen doing their separate jobs. Altair went off in Masyaf while Nemo spent most of the time in the kitchen, helping the overworked women. 'Overworked' may indeed be an overstatement since Nemo had become rather quick at producing breads and multitasking at various jobs all at once, not to mention the fact that she helped out everyone's backs by taking over virtually all of the more arduous and physically demanding work.

It was almost nightfall now and all of the women had retired for the night. It was dark outside, only a small amount of light protruding in through the windows. It was blue and eerie, but peaceful and serene at the same time. Thanks to her enhanced wolf eyes, she could see everything very clearly, almost as if it was just a blue and grey version of the sunlight.

She brushed a little bit of the flour into a corner of the room and smiled, feeling satisfied with herself. She put the broom aside and placed her hands on her hips. "Today was actually a nice day. I got to do the more physical-requiring jobs. That's always so much fun…if only everyone thought that that kind of work was fun."

"Some of us do," a voice said.

Nemo was startled and wheeled around, seeing a dark figure standing about two meters away from her. She saw that it was Akrim, standing there with a strange smile on his face and his hands behind his back. "It's you! A-a-krim!" She took a few steps back. "Hey, didn't Altair give you like, a death threat or something? An ancient version of a restraining order?"

"I do not know what you mean," he said, placing a jar down on the counter and opening it. "But, you have no need to worry, _demon_." Akrim said. "Why come to the surface? Why not just return back to your home…_Hell_?"

"I-I'm from Montana." She was now pressed against a counter. _Why am I not going psycho right now or something?_

"Oh, I just need you to do something for me." He just stood there for a moment, staring down at the lycanthrope. He was _huge_ compared to her small figure.

He surprised her when he thrust his arm forward and grabbed onto the sleeve of her right arm. Nemo yelped in fright and pulled back hard enough to rip the sleeve off, then made a dash for the door. Akrim grabbed her by the ankle and pulled back, knocking down several pots and pans that clanged against the floor upon impact, causing a rain of silver and grey metal. Nemo screamed as they struggled for a moment, the werewolf ultimately being the strongest. She kicked him in the chest with her feet, about to run for the door until Akrim grabbed a hand full of the grayish powder from the jar. He rose his arm and threw the powder onto her now-bare arm.

Pain surged through her arm as the powder made contact. She screamed as loud as she could, rising to a higher octave as the pain worsened. Her mind was saying that it was hot coal, but she knew very well that it wasn't even _close_ to coal.

She jumped over the countertops and ran out of the door. She held her left hand up to her right arm, only to feel as if it had been burnt. Her entire right arm felt as if fire was blazing on it. Her skin and flesh felt as if it was being torn and ripped off, only to grow back and have it shredded again. Her blood literally _boiled_ as the flesh was disintegrated slowly, her entire arm pulsing so much that she could see it. She opened her mouth and screamed a bloodcurdling, death-like scream of agony. She walked forward, only to collapse on her knees from the pain. She screamed in distress as loud as she could possibly have produced yet again, specifically screaming for Altair. She wished that she had a girly scream because it was naturally louder than her deep guy-like scream, but at least hers dragged on through the air.

She squinted her eyes shut as every muscle tensed and screamed again. The pain was so _unbearable_ that it was like nothing she had ever felt before. The agony was so much that she felt like it would be better to rip her arm off to stop the torturing that could easily be compared to physical hell.

She looked up and saw Altair running down the stairs, sprinting towards her. She couldn't prevent herself from screeching as the pain moved its way up to her shoulder. A surge of blood came up into her mouth and she was forced to spit it out; it must have been at least half of a pint of blood.

The pain moved to her chest and then her neck, gradually moving to other parts of her body.

"_Silver_," she hissed to him. "It's silver powder!" She screamed briefly and hoarsely again. "We need to flush it out with water."

Altair looked down at her arm. He could see the white bone of her ulna as the red blood sizzled and became a pinkish-creamish steam. He quickly picked her up bridal-style and raced to the infirmary.

He kicked the door opened and yelled for help. The torches were thankfully lit and some of the women were still inside, still tending to some other soldier's wounds. Nemo screamed loudly again and tried her best not to writhe.

Altair laid her down on a free bed and said, "We need as much water as possible." He took out a knife and cut off the rest of her shirt, for she was at a serious danger of overheating. Her skin was shining in the light given from the sweat that was profusely covering her now.

Her pulsing arm was red with twisted, vine-likes pieces of flesh covering it, almost resembling veins or arteries. The flesh was now gone at the top of her hand and her wrist, exposing the bone.

Nemo screeched again and brought her legs in a bit, turning the agonized scream into a howl of a wolf. It was palpable and incontrovertible that she was attempting to transform, but every time that she tried she failed in such a way that it appeared as if something was pulling back her body from doing so, coercing her into even more suffering than she was already drowning in.

When the water finally came, Altair poured one of the buckets vertically down her arm. It looked like something from a nightmare or a horror novel that would leave a lasting impression on his mind.

"We need more water," he said firmly and used a piece of cloth to help with the water.

Akrim was smart. He put the silver coin on the counter and saw Nemo touch it, then got burnt by it. It made sense to use powder; It would burn away at her arm and enter her blood stream, then get carried throughout her body, damaging everything that it touched. She was probably going to loose her arm; there would be no point in having an arm if there was no muscle to move it, and since the powder was so fine, it was impossible to flush all of it out.

Her arm was wrapped up tightly with a cloth bandage. The pressure didn't ease the pain; she was still in an intense amount of agony and still continued screaming, trying her best to remain still as the muscles in her body convulsed, forcing her writhe like a snake thrown in a fire.

"We need to reduce the circulation in her arm," Altair said and ordered for more bandages. Once he was given a roll, he tightly wrapped it around her shoulder. She gritted her teeth together and forced herself to gasp the painful breaths.

Even after her arm was bandaged, she continued bleeding. The blood made it's way through the cloth and dripped, making pools on the floor. Tears streamed down her face from the extreme pain as she now felt as if her insides were being squeezed together and bursting under pressure, causing her to curl into an agonized ball. With her free hand, she grasped Altair's arm in a death-grip and screamed yet again. He came around to the other side, saying words to her that she couldn't hear. She felt herself thorax and abdomen convulse slightly as she buried her face in his arm, muffling her screams. She then went still and loosened, her breath coming out in one long drag.

Altair felt his heart stop and shook her.

"She only fainted," one of the women said. "It looks like it only damaged her arm."

"No, she coughed up blood, as well." Altair said and moved so that he could see her face. She was breathing, he could see that, so he immediately felt relief.

"May I ask what happened?" One of the nurses asked.

"She said something about silver. I couldn't quite understand what she was saying." He placed his hand on the back of her head. Her body was twisted from moving around, most likely in the utmost uncomfortable position. He was going to find out who did this to her.

And he was going to kill that person.

* * *

Nemo awoke with Altair right next to her, apparently asleep. The pain was still unbearable in her arm. She could feel it pulse with the pressure put on it, feel the heat of it still burning enough that it felt like fire. She tried to move her fingers, but only succeeded in getting a twitch, most likely an inadvertent one.

Altair rose his head and saw her squinting her eyes in pain, her breathing somewhat erratic. "Thanks, powder pants," she said and tried the best smile that she could have possibly mustered.

"Can you tell me what happened, Nemo?"

"I was the last one in the kitchen. I was still cleaning, then Akrim came in attacked me. I didn't want to kill him, but he ripped my shirt, then threw silver powder on it. This is the result." She motioned over to her arm with her head.

Altair attempted to suppress the visage of anger.

"He called me a demon, asked why I left Hell. I'm from Montana, for Christ's sake,"

"I'm going to kill him," Altair said and stood up.

Nemo grasped the cloth on his robe and pulled him back. "No, Al Mualim will just kill you. Or attempt to, anyways." She let go of him.

"You have a point." He looked over at the door as Jafar came running in with Zahrah. Zahrah looked more worried than Jafar; the boy just burst into tears upon seeing her.

"Nemo!" He said and ran to her side. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'll be fine, Jafar." She then realized that she was only wearing her pants and her sports bra. "What the hell? I'm half naked!"

"Sorry about that," Altair said.

"Ugh, I'm not in the mood to yell or hurl insults," she said and closed her eyes, only to feel a blanket pulled over her.

"Is that better?" The assassin asked. Nemo could tell that he was forcing himself to appear emotionless.

"Thanks." She said, looking down at Jafar as he hugged her good arm, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed. Zahrah only brought her hands up to her heart and said nothing. "I'm going to kill that effing son of a bitch." She brought her arm up around Jafar as he hugged her, then began mumbling a variety of colorful swears in such a manner that it could easily match a rainbow.

A nurse came over to Jafar and Zahrah, saying something to them. Nemo couldn't quite hear what it was and decided to lay back down, holding her breath from the pain. Zahrah then gently grabbed hold of Jafar, bringing both of them away as they looked back at her with worried looks. "I'll be fine," Nemo said with a small smile, looking back over at Altair.

"Nemo," a nurse said to get her attention. "We're going to remove the bandage for a moment, just to see how your arm is doing."

She felt her stomach curl up in knots. "Okay." She didn't even have to agree, but her mind wasn't too sure of what to make of the situation.

As they knelt down beside her motionless and pulsing arm, she turned her head in the other direction and said, "I really rather not look."

"That is entirely alright," the lady said as others came by.

The pain increased as she felt pressure from the woman's hand unraveling the cloth. Judging by their reaction, it was obviously not good at all.

A nurse walked over to Altair and whispered something in his ear. Whatever it was, it was enough to light up a small amount of fear within him as he protested silently, but after a few seconds of contemplation, he agreed to whatever it was she had said. Either that or he accepted a fact.

Nemo was completely aware that something _really_ bad had happened once Altair knelt down beside her on the bed and took hold of her, hugging her as he brought his right hand up to the back of her head. "Don't look," he said and placed his chin on the top of her head. Nemo felt fear swell up inside of her, only to be worsened when her friend said, "Close your eyes, honey, don't look," _Name calling? That's not good…for him to be doing that, this is seriously not good._ She felt her bad arm be elevated onto something-most likely a wooden table-as it dawned on her that her arm was going to be amputated.

"Altair?" She said uncertainly and gripped the cloth of his robes.

"Honey, don't look," he rubbed the back of her head soothingly and tightened his grip on her. "You're such a good wolf." He covered her eyes and pressed her closer to him. All what Nemo could see was pitch blackness as she could feel her heart racing, throbbing in her ears.

She knew that she was going to scream. Once that knife came down, she was going to scream out of fear and pain. Oddly enough, something had calmed her slightly; the fact that the agony was going to go away gave her relief.

She felt the sharp pain of the knife slice through the flesh of her arm, severing her humorous bone from her scapula. She screamed and pressed into Altair, muffling her voice with his chest. Altair tightened his grip on her about four times fold, holding her in his arms as the nurses rushed to cease the bleeding in her arm.

She started crying. There was nothing else she could do _but_ cry, quivering in her best friend's arms as he refused to let go of her. Tears streamed down her face, absorbing into the cloth of Altair's robes once they hit the white material.

The nurses managed to cease the bleeding and wrapped several bandages around her chest, only slightly restricting her ability to breathe. It still hurt and it was _going_ to hurt for a long time.

Altair sat down on the bed next to her and had her lean into him. He kept his arms around her and gently stroked her hair as she cried into his shoulder. Just as any friend would do, he slowly cradled her back and forth. That was when he realized just how _small_ she was compared to him. Yes, both in height and in mass. She was very short, but she was just overall _small_. If they put their hands up against each other's her fingertips would just barely reach little farther than the first line within the flesh of the first phalange bones of his hand. Not only that, but her fingers were like matchsticks. Her whole body was like a matchstick; you could easily see her ribcage and her spine through her skin. If he ever glided his fingers down her back or her side, he knew that he would be able to feel the bones without a problem. He could imagine someone just simply picking her up and breaking her just as a child would snap a dry twig in half. If something like that happened, then would she recover quickly? Somehow be placed back together?

Nemo stopped crying once she realized that the pain from the silver dust was gone. Her chest still ached from the slight damage done to it, but with her arm now gone, the misery was over with. Now she was finally in the easy stage…she just hoped that when she turned into a wolf, her right arm would grow back instead of just having flesh cover up the wound. That's how that werewolf who was sliced in half survived; she got a full body back in human form, thus resulting in her having a full body as a wolf.

She felt safe being with him, as if everything was going to be alright. Everything _was_ going to be alright, too, now that she was feeling 'better' just in general.

* * *

Nemo remained in the infirmary for three days straight. It was physically hard on her to remain laying in bed all day and night; she's a _wolf_, she has to get up and move even if she is injured. Or at least she _wants_ to. In bed or not in bed, she was angry as hell towards Akrim…making her loose her arm for something so silly, so ridiculous. She felt relieved when Altair told her that he managed to find Akrim; apparently he thought that he had succeeded in killing her and didn't leave Masyaf. Al Mualim didn't want punishment to be followed out right away with Akrim; he wanted to wait until Nemo's strength was back, so he was currently being detained within the fortress.

Altair crossed his arms and frowned a frown larger than the normal. Nobody even dared to bother with him; he was obviously disgruntled and irritated. He and Nemo could have been in Damascus right now, seeking out Abu'l Nuqoud. Of course…when do things _ever_ go to plan, especially for HIM? It was weird enough when he first met Nemo, but he never expected to have a gigantic mess like this occur. She just lost her _arm_, that's pretty darn bad. What he didn't know was that there was the possibility that she could 'grow' it back, but first, he's going to ask Al Mualim to rid the fortress of silver. A few times his Master had visited Nemo and saw what she was going through, and just seeing her once should make it relatively easy to make him agree. Then again, perhaps not. Silver may have been plentiful in the region but it still wasn't cheap. Not only that, but there was also a rather large number of it, as well. Upon realizing that, he only frowned more and figured that the only thing Nemo could do about it was to just avoid it, but that could be rather difficult. It would be like a person who's allergic to cats trying to avoid cats that live in their home; it doesn't work out to well unless if they have an intense fear. Nemo probably now has an extreme fear of silver which is definitely a good thing; she would steer clear of it.

The lycanthrope sat upright, stretching her back. All what she mostly did for the past three days was sleep and recover, occasionally eat. Most of the time if she even thought of food she became nauseous.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and gripped the side of it, slowly standing up. "Ah, out of all suckish things in the world, this has just _got_ to be the suckiest." She looked over to where her right arm had once been. "Now I got to grow my friggin' arm out. Ugh, just great."

After convincing the other nurses that she was fine enough to stand, she unwrapped the bandages around her chest, planning on transforming into a wolf. All the while the only thing that she could think of was her punching Akrim in the mouth and breaking his jaw, then picking him up and throwing him off of a cliff. Of course, she wouldn't actually do that, but the thought of it satisfied her.

Her bones cracked and popped as her back arched, the knobs of her spine becoming spiked as her face elongated into a muzzle. Her voice deepened dramatically and turned into a howl as she fell down to all fours (or threes), her feet stretching out into dog paws. She felt a wave of pain through her right side as bone began to form near the wound, eventually forming the skeletal part of a dog leg. Her deep voice roared as flesh began to form into pink and red muscle, eventually being covered with white skin as the blood flow began to form into every strand of her arm. Long, curved, black claws grew from her toes as thick fur formed around her shoulder, then became course and flat as it grew down her arm and her paw.

Exhausted from her body using a large amount of protein to form the arm, she collapsed on the ground and whimpered loudly, watching the other nurses try to figure out what to do.

She managed to muster enough energy to stand up, and upon doing so, she attempted to put weight down on her right arm. She yelped in pain when she realized that her body wasn't going to allow any amount of pressure on it.

Glancing around at the other women, the only thing that came into her mind was 'I need Altair.' She quickly turned around and limped away, bringing her muzzle to the ground to follow Altair's scent.

She found him at the entrance to the fortress, standing there with his arms cross and a complete look of frustration on his face. He was facing the direction opposite to her so he obviously didn't see her.

"Altair," she said with her head still low to the ground, a look of exhaustion on her face. She kept her right arm elevated but limp, almost dangling to the ground as she whimpered, keeping her tail in between her legs.

He only frowned even more. "We told you not to leave the infirmary,"

"I know, but I'm fine now." She panted from the heat, her long tongue hanging out of her mouth. "I just thought that I would show you that I have my arm back…I just don't want anything touching it." She whimpered a little loudly.

"Come," he ordered and walked back to the infirmary with her.

Nemo transformed herself back into a human, realizing just how much her arm now hurt. It was actually more of the soreness that caused it to ache in the amount that it did, but she tried her best to keep a straight face. She simply laid back down on the bed with her arm now in a makeshift sling. She was actually surprised that slings even existed back in the third crusade, but either way, it was helping to protect her arm. Not only was it sore and aching but it was also extremely tender and fragile; the new bone wasn't nearly as strong as her others. Werewolf bones are stronger than human bones in several ways. In fact, it takes about four or five times more force to break a werewolf bone than it would for a human, but that's how it was _suppose_ to be. Their bones need to be strong in order to withstand the things that their bodies do, such as falling off of one-hundred foot buildings or leaping bounds of sixty feet. All of the weight and strain put on the bones would crush any human bones, so werewolf bones became stronger. There were more cells, all of them extremely tightly-compacted with extra proteins. They were hollow on the inside to keep the werewolf light on their feet, but because of that hollowing the skeletal system was natural stronger. Usually people would think it would be the other way around, but for werewolves, the tight air pressure inside of the bones makes it even more difficult to break since the air doesn't have anywhere else to go. If the bone was broken and the air escaped, then it would be easier to break it because the air on the inside wouldn't be acting as a solid. It's like trying to crush an empty soda bottle; it's easy to squeeze if some of the air is let out, but if there's a lot of air inside of it, it's harder to crush.

The bones of her new arm were twice as weak as the bones in a human's arm, ultimately resulting in her craving tons of protein and demanding lots of sleep. It would probably take about five days for her arm to become fully functional and just as strong as the last, maybe less depending on how much she sleeps and how much she eats.

Course, there was also another problem. A protein-deprived werewolf in a room of protein-filled and tasty humans was not a very good combination, so for the sake of all humanity within Masyaf, Altair was left to bring her whatever meat he could. Despite her size, she had quite the appetite, but the amount that he brought her was at least enough to prevent her from biting anyone.

She was a _werewolf_, not a vampire.

Soon enough, five days passed and even though her arm remained sore and tender, almost all of the pain had finally subsided. She continued to cradle her arm, though, but was finally back to her normal self.

* * *

Altair roughly grabbed onto Akrim's back and forced him on the ground to his knees in front of Al Mualim. He had his hands tied behind his back and was utterly helpless, but he appeared angry nonetheless. He wasn't nearly as angry as Nemo was.

Nemo was looking rather murderous at the moment.

There was a long silence before Al Mualim spoke; "Akrim…you had compromised the Brotherhood. You have attempted to assassinate an ally. Why did you do such a thing?"

Akrim glanced hatefully towards Nemo. "This _thing_ is not an ally. She is a demon from Hell, a hellhound, an _imp_. I cannot believe how _blind_ all of you are, not seeing that this creature is only using all of you. She is using all of you as pawns, luring all of you into an evil scheme that will result in us, the innocents, being dragged down to her homeland, _Hell_. I was protecting _all_ of us, but apparently you do not see so. This demon is from Hell and she indeed has malicious intention on her thoughts."

"I'm from Montana," Nemo said and crossed her arms.

"What causes you to make such assumptions?" Al Mualim asked.

"Assumptions? _Ha_! These are not assumptions, but facts. You have seen her power, or at least what she is capable of doing. Not only that, but you have seen her in her true form, her _demon_ form, the wolf. Why do _you_ continue to keep such a monster within the very borders of our great kingdom, Masyaf?"

"Because, Akrim, she is not a demon. If she were then we would have noticed long ago."

"_Lies!_" He roared. "They're all lies! All what it does is deceive all of you, soon going to force you underneath her control!"

"_Silence_," Altair hissed and tightened his grip on him.

"I am sorry Akrim, I truly am," Al Mualim said and pulled out his sword from it's sheath. "But because you attempted to kill someone dear to not only Altair, but myself, as well, you must die. Be at peace, Akrim." He tossed the sword to Nemo, catching her off guard. She looked down at the sword for a long while before saying,

"…I can't." She averted her gaze off to the side. "It's not going to fix anything. I got my arm back, that's what I care about."

"Then if I may, Master," Altair said and extended his hidden blade. Despite the situation, his voice was calm, even kind, and he displayed no emotion.

"You can do as you see fit, Altair."

"Wait!" Nemo said right before Altair plunged his blade down.

She walked in front of Akrim and said, "I'm sorry." She was silent for a while. "I'm _so_ sorry, but…now that you know that I really don't die easily…well…you know that Altair is a hell of a lot more mortal than I am. If you lived then I would be afraid that you would try to kill him…that's why I'm not saving you right now." She said and turned her head off to the side. "If that weren't the case, then I would stop Altair from killing you…but if he dies…then what am I to do?" She didn't looked at him as the silence passed between everyone. "He's the only family I've got, and I don't want to risk loosing him, _especially_ if it's because of something that I did. So that's why…I'm not stopping him. I'm sorry, I really am sorry, so please…be at peace." She stepped off to the side and closed her eyes as Altair rose his hidden blade and plunged it through Akrim's neck, killing him almost instantly.

Nemo blinked a few times and put her mouth into a thin line. It was true; when someone is dead, you really don't have to worry about them trying to harm you or someone else.

"It is a shame, really," Al Mualim said as Nemo handed him the sword. "That one of our own brothers fell from the light."

"Thanks Alty," she muttered almost inaudibly.

"But what must be done, must be done." The old man put the sword away and looked over at Nemo, then at Altair. A very awkward silence filled the room. "I suppose that it is true..."

"I don't really want to talk right now," Nemo said and turned her head off to the side again.

"…that you and Altair are indeed very close friends."

"We are," Nemo said. "But…never mind."

"Speak what you wish." Al Mualim flipped through a few pages in a book. "You two should rest up and leave for Damascus tomorrow now that this mess is over with. You are free to go." He waved them off with his hand, not looking at them.

Altair descended the stairs with Nemo right beside him. Altair had that cold look on his face again. Nemo then realized that she had 'chiseled' away at that outer shell of his to a point where she freed him from the trapped emotions, but thanks to this incident, that 'shell' hardened over again and he was back to his old, emotionless self. She never expected it to be permanent; it would always be just temporary, but their strong camaraderie and inseparable bond isn't temporary. Emotionless or not, Altair was still her best friend, and he had helped her probably more than he thought.

Nemo cradled her arm as they walked back to his quarters, planning on departing tomorrow.

* * *

**6,899 words, a little more than sixteen pages! :D**

**Sorry that took a little long to update. I got into some pictures that I was drawing :D I love drawing Alex Mercer from Prototype.**

**Yeah, Altair was only calling her 'honey' because he is beginning to think of her a daughter but it was mostly because of what she was going to go through. How many hearts stopped when you read that her arm was going to be amputated?**

**Wow, I just love torturing my characters, don't I? }:)**


	10. An Inauspicious Incarceration

**For those who don't know, 'lacuna' is pronounced at 'lak-ee-own-ah.' it took me a while to say it right -_-**

**WOOT!**

* * *

"Ah, come on, Fath," Nemo said. "It's not that bad."

_You and the others have no idea,_ Fath 'said' back to her.

"Don't worry, I'm barely even weigh a hundred pounds. Some of the others here could reach over two-fifty."

_Pound_?

"It's a measurement of weight." She explained and mounted the black horse. She took hold of the reins and asked him to follow Seema.

_I'm glad that you don't kick me like the others, or wave the reins. It really hurts because it's metal and hits my teeth._

"That's why I'll _ask_ you to go instead of physically hurting you." She bounced up and down with Fath's trotting. Upon walking out of the stalls, a group of assassins were chasing each other and ran out in front of Fath, causing the horse to rear and neigh loudly. Nemo grabbed onto him tighter, yelling out, "_Whoa_!" The startled horse fell back to the ground on all fours and snorted, pawing the dusty ground.

"I forget to mention that he's skittish," said Altair.

Nemo gave him a death glare. "You suck."

Fath followed Seema outside of Masyaf. Once past the gates, they began running at full speed.

The wind felt good against their faces, reminding Neo of the times she would be a wolf riding in a car with her head outside of the window going down the highway. It just felt _good_, especially in the arid heat of Masyaf.

Nemo glanced over at Altair and noticed the gigantic frown that he had. Ever since she realized that she had 'broken the shell' only to have it 'repaired and hardened' Altair had been in a sour mood since. Worse than his old self. Perhaps he was just disgruntled with the incident? Maybe everything? Or was he angry at _her_, for being out so late at night, for not fighting back hard enough?

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked, only to get no response. "Altair?" She leaned forward a bit to see him better. At least they were riding two different horses. "Are you mad at me?"

"No." He replied.

"Okay." She turned her head forward and listened to Fath say,

_He isn't angry at you, but I know this man, and he such an unpleasant individual to be around with._

"I can contradict with you, Fath."

_How?_

"Just because they kick you to move forward and hurt your teeth doesn't make them unpleasant. You can't understand what they say, they can't understand what you say."

_I suppose Seema's right. You really are a tough girl._

_When am I not right?_ Seema said and looked over at Fath.

_Let's see. You one time attempted eating Altair's hood and he punched you in the face. That was a bad idea._

"You idiot, you punched Seema?" Nemo yelled at the assassin.

"If you are referring to the time she bit my hood and would not let go, then yes, I did."

"Ugh, I'm going dye your robes pink and then you'll be 'Altair the pink assassin' and then you'll look like a freakishly skinny version of Murray the hippopotamus!"

All three of them said 'what' rather simultaneously.

_Yes, Fath, but then there was a the time when you kicked him in the stomach._

_It was lower than the stomach._

"Ooo, are you serious?"

_He was not a happy man._ Fath said, neighing loudly with Seema as a form of laughter.

"Why did you do that?"

_He was behind me doing something with my foot. Why else wouldn't I?_

"He was probably just changing your shoe…."

_So? It was funny._

"Yeah, so is eating assassins' hoods." She chuckled slightly and clung on tighter as they rode up an incline.

* * *

Damascus seemed even bigger than the last time she saw it. It really did appear to be one of those 'great cities' and even had complete Hollywoodized features, including a setting sun over gigantic buildings and a winding road that gave you the best view of it. It was a _massive_ city and a complete labyrinth at that.

Nemo groaned as she dismounted Fath. "Ugh, it's just plainly dandy sitting on a rock for two days straight."

Altair said nothing and dismounted Fath, handing a few coins to the stable keeper. He motioned for Nemo to follow; they both knew the drill.

The assassin was out of luck; there were no scholars to use to sneak into the city. As a second-to-last resort, he walked up to a lone soldier watching guard over the busy marketplace from behind. He extended his hidden and plunged it in the man's back, covering his mouth to mute the scream of pain and surprise. Just as he predicted, the other soldiers came walking over to investigate. During that moment of distraction, he sped-walked through the entrance gates and easily snuck into Damascus.

Nemo was quick in meeting up with him. From afar, she looked just as she normally would look, but once she approached, Altair began to notice all of her features. While her skin may have been paler than parchment, sweat was making her black hair cling to her forehead and her neck. Her black, cotton shirt was wet in certain areas, sticking to her skin more than usual. He knew that she wasn't too good in heat; she was made for cold weather. "Nice method. Now if only you were a gymnast…."

"A what?"

"God, gymnastics don't exist yet?" She followed as he walked past her.

Now that she wasn't too nervous and didn't have to concentrate on following Altair, she got a chance to look at all of the buildings and the people. Almost all of the women had their hair covered and most had their faces wrapped with cloth, all of them wearing dresses. The men were wearing more comfortable-looking clothing but continued to sweat in the heat nonetheless. Dogs ran amok in the streets after one another, many of them searching for scraps of food within the streets. Most of them would look at the werewolf oddly, often growling or at least bearing their teeth. The buildings were tall and stood out against the setting sun, appearing to be painted against the red and orange sky. Birds flew overhead, their songs intermingling with the voices of humans speaking both English and Arabic. Smells of food from the food vendors filled the air near the marketplaces, all of them attempting to attract more customers than the people next to them. The other vendors boasted about having the best wares in all of Damascus, some of them speaking with potential purchasers, pointing out certain things and whatnot. Chickens trapped in cages and horses tied at the necks to wooden posts stood helplessly amongst the people along with goats as their neighbors. It pained Nemo to hear a horse say to her as she passed by, _Help me._ She just tried her best at keeping a straight face and continued to walk by the beautiful stallions with their shining coats, neighing loudly as they moaned about there being no grass in the dry, dusty ground.

She followed Altair closely as they climbed up the ladder to the Assassins Bureau, then leapt down from the top. Nemo accidentally tumbled to absorb the impact and knocked Altair off his feet, thus resulting in the collapse of the duo. While she came out with a whole list of apologies, Altair just grunted and stood up again, ignoring her as he walked into the adjacent room. Once the rafiq began to speak, Nemo shut up.

"Altair. I received news that you would arrive." He looked over at Nemo and smiled. "Ah, and how is our wolf doing today?"

"Overheated, sweaty, sore ass. Just one hundred percent excellent with a cherry on top." She said in a highly sarcastic tone with a purposely noticeably fake smile. "I am just floatin' on cloud nine today."

"Oh, that is…wonderful." He said, contemplating if she was serious or not, still confused on the expressions used.

"Don't mind her," Altair said.

"Anyway, welcome, welcome! Who's life do you come to collect today?"

"His name is Abu'l Nuqoud. What can you tell me about him?"

"_Ooh_, merchant king of Damascus, richest man in the city! Quite exciting, quite dangerous. I envy you, Altair. Well...not when you were beaten and stripped of your rank, but I envy everything else. Oh, except the terrible things the other assassins say about you, but yes, aside from the failure and the hatred-yes, aside from those things-I envy you very much!"

"Failure? Rank-stripping? Hatred? Good god, what did you do, Altair? You're a perfectionist to the extreme. You're not telling me everything, are you?" Nemo looked over at him. She already knew what happened, but she needed to play the oblivious innocent. "Is that the reason why you have that scar on your lip?"

"You mean you do not know? The others speak of it all the time." The rafiq turned his gaze to her.

"Rafiq, you have spoken too much. She does not need to know. If you truly do admire me, then you shall be quiet about such things." Altair said, still showing no sign of emotion.

"Oh yes, of course, of course, my apologies," the rafiq put his paintbrush down and wiped it off a bit. "Anyway, I don't know much about Abu'l other than he must be a very bad man if Al Mualim has sent you see him. He keeps to his own kind, wrapped in the finer areas of the city's noble district. He's a busy man, always up to something. I'm sure that if you spend some time amongst his type, you'll learn all you need to know about him. There is a mosque in the noble district along with a souk west of here. Both are popular meeting spots and have proven to be a reliable source for information in the past."

"I thank you forthe guidance, rafiq."

"If there is ever a lacuna in the information, I will try my best to answer for you."

Something hit Nemo in the chest as she heard the word 'lacuna.' "Whoa." She said, stumbling back into the wall. She brought a hand up to her head and leaned forward a bit.

"Nemo?" Altair said and turned in her direction. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, standing up straight again. "I'm gonna go over here for a moment. I think it's just the heat." She walked into the room that they first entered and sat down on the carpet surrounded by pillows. "I'm stupid…" she said and cupped her face with her hands. "I'm _so_ stupid. I forgot my name…god, I forgot my own name."

In truth, she _had_ forgotten her name. Her name isn't Nemo, Nemo was just an accident that muttered out from her mouth for some unknown reason. Lacuna was her name, and not a very fitting or suitable one. In fact, it's depressing. Then again, Nemo is also not a fitting name, and it's also depressing. Why couldn't she have said Max, or Sam, or Alex, or Blue? Even Chris would have worked and he would have believed her.

With the sudden realization of the forgotten memory and fact, she drew in a breath and thought for a moment, staring at the wall. _How could I have forgotten?_ She thought to herself. _Lacuna doesn't suit me right, though. I'm not a lacuna…I was _never_ a lacuna, so why was I named it_? She thought for a while longer, then it dawned on her that her idiotic and self-centered parents had never seen anything before that could turn into a wolf, so it seemed fitting, perhaps. Her names literally means 'gap,' as if something is missing, something gone that needs to be replaced or filled in.

Her parents never wanted her. She was a mistake, only existing because of the result of two drunkards. Because of her power, she needed to be replaced. There needed to be someone else, a different Lacuna, a different _Nemo_, a different daughter, a different sister to Markoh. So then why, if they didn't want a daughter, why did her mother not get an abortion? Was it because she didn't _know_ she was pregnant? It was a highly possible answer, but she wouldn't know for sure. Markoh was _way_ too young to remember what had happened.

She felt her claws lengthen as hate began to swell up inside of her. "I'm not a lacuna." She said to herself and brought her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around them. _Markoh would say the same, and so would Altair. And Jafar. And Zahrah. I wish my name were Max. No, Blue. I wish my name were Blue. And if I for some reason _ever_ see my parents again, I'll kill them. Without explanation, I'll just kill them._

"Nemo, are you alright?" Altair asked.

She looked up at him from where he was in the doorway.

"I'm fine. I was never good in extreme heat, anyways." She stood up.

"You appear angry."

"Whoops. You weren't suppose to notice that."

"Why are you, then?"

"I was just thinking on some things, that's all."

After a moment of contemplation, Altair said, "I do not mean to pry, but may I ask what?"

"Parents. I hate them. Naming me what I am…doing what they did to me and Markoh. It just hit me suddenly, that's all. Stupid Dad, stupid Mom, they're not parents." She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

"Dad and Mom?"

"'Dad' is how we say 'father' and 'Mom' is how we say mother. They were never my parents…." She had a visage of complete and total disgust and hatred displayed on her face. "I know, it seems depressing that I'm fourteen and I'm saying this kind of stuff, but it's the truth. I hate them."

_She looks like she's ten or eleven, not fourteen. _"They really were that bad towards you?"

"And Markoh." She looked down to the ground. "I was also thinking last night…since I don't have a parent anymore…since Markoh's not here…well…you've…" She searched her mind for the right words, pondering as to what to say that wouldn't spark anything unnecessary. Altair became curious as to what she was going to say, speculating as she contemplated on what to say. "You've been my dad." A silence soon ensued.

"Me? You're…father?" Altair echoed, registering the words.

"And, you know, I wish you were my dad." She looked up at him, still with her arms crossed, but the anger went away and she replaced it with a smile.

Altair was speechless, unsure of what to make of the situation. Here's this monstrous creature capable of carnage bloodshed beyond imagination that he met randomly in the streets of Jerusalem, and she's saying that she wishes he was her father? It was weird, and an overall friendship that should never exist. She's a werewolf, he's a human, but nothing ever separated them. Nothing ever pulled them apart from each other. She _wasn't_ his daughter and he _wasn't_ her father, but there's no denying that the other thinks the same. It's almost seems as if they should have never met each other considering that circumstances. She even claims to hale from another _world_, says that the Earth is round, says that they're not at the center of the universe, but rather on the very edge of a random cluster of stars, says that _they're_ the ones orbiting the sun, not the other way around. Then, literally out of nowhere, he felt himself hit by something that was running at full speed and was thrown to the ground with a strange, new weight on his back, only to realize that it had been a body. Then when it moved, the first thing he felt was his sword being pulled out of its sheath. When he finally managed to register what had happened and lifted his head to look at who or what it was, he saw some type of creature with dog legs and long claws fleeing from soldiers. If he remembered correctly, he believed that he even saw a tail balancing the creature. By the time he stood up on his feet, he saw the thing run up a wall effortlessly and sprint away at five miles a minute. Nonetheless, he had been baffled, and considered the fact that the intense Damascus heat had gotten to his head and was making him see things. But he _felt_ himself knocked to the ground and could _hear_ the loud panting of the _thing_ that ran into him, its lungs trying so desperately to give its body the much-needed air that the muscles were screaming for.

By the time he had succeeded in locating it, the first thing he had noticed was its exhausted and frightened look, then the blood that was bleeding profusely around its shoulder. It looked like a dog in human form and could have sworn that he had seen a tail lurking behind its body, swaying slowly from side to side as it asked for help, for relief from the pain of the arrow that had pierced through its body in an area that would have made it fatal. Yet it was not harmed by it, only merely stunned by the slightest amount.

Everything that should have killed her didn't and only caused her pain. While everyone else was afraid of him, she would hurl insults at him undeterred. If someone were to punch her, she would punch back…and break their jaw. Altair thought it odd that she was so _violent_, so full of _rage_. She wasn't afraid to fight back, and on top of that, she was a _girl_. Was it because if something tried to harm her, she would the same thing back, only worse? Perhaps.

She wasn't human. She never _was_ human, she was a lycanthrope, a monster, a beast, a _thing_.

But he didn't think that. At first he did, at first he thought of her as an 'it' and a 'thing,' not a 'she' and a 'Nemo.' Then he learned better and saw that while others thought her weird and saw her vicious, he saw a sweet wolf who was only showing her true side, her _pure_ side, which is-without a doubt-feral. Then Akrim came along and caused her to loose to her arm. He had never seen any creature in so much pain, in so much desperation. She has clung to him before, but never did he think that she would cling to him like how she did that night, writhing around in pain, screaming in agony, her only comfort-if any-being him, her best friend out of three. Maybe two, Zahrah might be considered a semi-friend (it was difficult to include Seema or Fath).

How dare Akrim do something like that to her! Nemo's _his_, no one else's! She's _his_ wolf, she's _his_ Nemo, the only person out of the entire world who's never been afraid of him and who has accepted him for who he is and _likes_ him. He's never had a friend before; she's his first, and for someone to attempt to take something so precious like her away from him was definitely too far. He was so angry at Akrim that if he somehow escaped from Masyaf, he would have chased him to the ends of the Earth for hurting his wolf, then he would have killed him in the most painful way possible. Why Nemo didn't kill him where he was actually troubled him; it meant that she wouldn't kill anyone in the brotherhood, so if one of his 'brothers' ever attacked her again, her chances of survival weren't as high, _especially_ if they possessed silver and had malicious intention…now that the clandestine of silver was completely disclosed and incontrovertible in the fact that it harmed her more than anything else physically.

He knew that she was dangerous. Provoke her and you're automatically at death's door and within death's embrace. In case if he was wrong and she ever did, for some reason, attack someone from the brotherhood and she didn't _need_ to, then how would he stop her? Jump in her path? That's easily suicide. Leap on her and wrestle her to the ground? Suicide…again. She'd just stand up and throw him off. Yell out her name? That would possibly work. Throw a stone at her? No, she would just run away and then not want to be with him. He acknowledged and highly respected the fact that she was untamable, but was there was a way for him to stop her from attacking someone, even if it's just her natural instinct? To 'tame thy tameless beast?'

No matter what it is that appears to get in the way, she's his wolf, nobody else's.

And he also wishes that Nemo was his daughter…even though they're only six years apart in age. Age didn't seem to matter much to either of them, though.

_When should I tell him?_ Nemo thought. _When should I tell him my real name? I don't want to lie to him…I can tell Altair anything…but he's gotta know my name's Lacuna and he's gonna find out __one__ day. Just when? I haven't told anybody…oh god, how to approach __anyone__ in that manner? It's not like it's every day does your best friend walk up to you and say 'hey, my name's not what it is, it's something else entirely.' What would he think if I told him? "Hey, Altair, I need to tell you that my name is Lacuna, not Nemo." "You lied to me about your name?" Yeah, then he wouldn't trust me anymore. Ugh, this silence is awkward, I'm gonna end it._

"Come on Powder Pants, let's get to finding the big fat dude." She motioned for him to follow…pft, as if he wouldn't.

"I shall assume that you are merely guessing…" Altair said.

_I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST DID THAT. _Nemo screamed to herself mentally. "Yeah, it's similar to the phrase 'when the fat lady sings.'" She began to climb up the wall with him.

"Another expression I do not know."

"Um…I don't know how to explain it. Hmm…I actually forgot about that phrase." She hoisted herself over the top and walked onto the wooden rooftop, swaying her long and fluffy tail from side to side.

"Nemo. You're tail."

She glanced down at her tail. "Whoops…my bad."

Altair just rolled his eyes and shook his head, walking past her.

"Hey, I like my tail and I guess that sometimes I just have it!" She playfully followed him.

* * *

"Great…I'm all alone walking through the streets of a friggin' desert city in search of someone I don't even know." Nemo said with a pout. "This sucks…as it always does. Oh, it's just so lovely being in a place full of people that smell three times worse than an unclean farm barn." She kicked a stone on the ground and only frowned greater. "My arm is still sore." She rubbed it briefly before mumbling a list of curses and insults…one of them including a platypus and a sink sponge.

Finally, after hours of wandering around aimlessly, she managed to pick up on something that appeared suspicious. She walked nearby the conversing two, leaning her back against a wall. She soon learned that the building was a house and had a bucket of dirty water thrown no her head from the second or third story, drawing unwanted attention to herself. She just stood there frozen, not wanting to know what would have possibly been in the water.

At least she hoped it was water and not something else.

"I'm just going to amble away…." She said and slowly walked away from the scene, shaking herself dry…which caused even more odd looks. She grunted and said, "It would have been funny if that was Altair." She sat down on a nearby bench in between two people who appeared rather distant, lost in their thoughts, hardly even noticing that someone just appeared between them. From her place, she listened closely to the two men.

"Did you hear what the Abu'l Nuquod is doing tonight?"

_Wow, that was easy…where's my Easy Button?_

"Yes, I know. He is holding a fancy ball in his home to honor the people."

"I personally think that he should donate it to the city itself, but whatever it is that he seeks out on doing, he shall do. I just hope that demon won't come along."

"If you are talking about your wife, then she doesn't even know."

"No, that is not what I am referring to."

Nemo's eyes shot right open. _Ah shit._

"What I am speaking of is the fact that there have been four other murders of highly important people, and from what I've heard, there's been a demon running around killing them all."

"Oh yes, I have indeed heard of those. And I believe it, too. While I was traveling the roads, there were men torn apart from the inside and strewn about the ground."

"Good, then I will not be forced to argue with you, then. This demon is said to look like a wolf, a _gigantic_ wolf, but can disguise herself as a human."

"A wolf in sheeps' clothing…wait; did you say 'she?'"

"Yes, I know, very strange indeed. She looks very different from everyone else from what I have heard, but apparently she can change the way how she looks. The first reports of her said that she had white hair, then the later ones were black. I was also warned that she wears men's clothing."

"A woman in men's clothing?"

"Strange indeed, but not only that, she is just a child, probably not even ten years old. My guess is that she's nine or eight. Made to look innocent, perhaps. Spawn of the devil."

_I'M FOURTEEN YOU CAMEL-LOVIN' MORON!_

While everyone else mistook her as a fourth grader when she was indeed a freshman, mistaking her for an eight-year-old is a wee bit too far.

"She wouldn't happen to look like _that_, would she?" The man pointed to Nemo.

_Oh shit, I should just walk right now._

"Yes, that's what I've heard from the stories, but that can't possibly be her. She wouldn't be stupid enough to loiter underneath a window and get splashed by with water."

_I'm going to dismember that brainless, dim-witted moron. Go impale yourself with a cactus!_

"That is true. Shall we inform the guards regardless?"

"Just in case. Perhaps we can cast a demon back into Hell."

She felt her heart begin to race. Once she was aware that they were gone for the time being, she stood up and hastily began to walk away. She kept herself ridged and straight with the perfect posture, just completely out of habit (it made her took taller…).

"You! Hey, you! Stop right there! I must ask you a question!"

_Alright, just pretend that I believe they're speaking to someone else_. She thought to herself and began to walk faster. _I've been compromised, I've been compromised!_

"Shoot it, Muson," another man said. "We shall not risk it."

Nemo whipped around and caught the arrow midair while it was still sailing towards her, stopping it from piercing her flesh. She looked surprised at herself, then looked at the guards who were even more astonished.

"Oh f*ck-" Is all she said before running away.

* * *

Altair sat down on a bench near a tree, listening in on a conversation. He felt satisfied when he heard that the man he had suspected was carrying a letter that spoke of Abu'l Nuquod's doings in the past few days, as well as his plans for the next two weeks. He stood up and followed the man, trailing closely behind. He reached for an edge of paper that was sticking out from his target's pocket, then grabbed it and quickly pulled it out. He walked away hastily, getting much amusement from the man's reaction.

Just as he was walking away, he heard someone exclaim very loudly, "OH SHIT!" He turned his head in the direction of the voice and then heard several crackling noises of wood being snapped. Then he saw the werewolf with her body tucked in tightly as she soared through the air thirty feet off of the ground. Then when her feet hit the ground, she kicked them again and glided through the air.

Altair jumped backwards as she hit the ground, but while in the midst of making her way towards a building, an arrow hit her in the back, knocking her out of balance. Now horizontal to the ground, she brought her arms up as if she were to catch herself from falling on the ground.

While she was meant to land on the building, she accidentally went _over_ it, landing on the adjacent road.

Nemo scrambled into a pile of nearby hay, remaining as still as she could have possibly been.

She could see through some of the straw and watched the soldiers run by, only to have them stop in the area that she was in.

"Search everywhere! It's here somewhere!" One of them yelled. She held her breath as a man saw the blood that had been splattered on the ground. She then felt him kick the pile of hay, and upon him doing that, she figured that she was founded.

She sprung up from where she was, surprising the soldier.

She yelped loudly as something caught onto her foot. She was yanked out of the air but managed to extend her claws fast enough to catch onto the edge of a building. They began tugging on the rope around her foot, trying desperately to get her off.

She made her claws sharper and forced them in deeper into the building's rooftop. She then heard whipping noises through the air as another roped wrapped itself around her free hand. While they pulled harder, her claws came loose from the grooves within the stone for a brief moment and then caught onto it again, giving her a slight panic attack. "Not today, buddy," she said and used her arm to pull herself closer to the building. All what she needed was to just get her other arm up…

She brought up her left foot and extended the talon-like claws, kicking her paw to get traction on the wall. She didn't know that it would take her so much strength just to hang on, but when twenty men are pulling her back, she was out of luck. Ultimately, her claws lost their place on the building and she slipped off, falling to the ground. Just as she was about to turn into a wolf and kill all of them, she felt something hit the back of her head. She blacked out, then went unconscious.

Altair came around from the corner and stopped in his tracks as he saw his unconscious friend tied up with rope and slung over a shoulder, now being carried away. For a moment, he considered chasing after them, but there were too many soldiers for him to handle all at once. Instead, he followed them closely from behind. Eventually, they reached a point where Altair wasn't allowed access. He cursed to himself and was forced to walk away and find an alternate route.

* * *

Nemo awakened and found herself chained to a wall with thick chains and locks around her feet. She noticed a thick iron chain was around her neck as she looked around the room, realizing that she was in a cell. There was a small amount of light protruding from the iron bars above the thick metal door. It looked like something that would be out of a horror movie when the character is suddenly trapped and there appears to be no way out. Off in the distance, she heard men arguing about something that she couldn't understand. She tried to shuffle her way out of the chains but it proved to be no avail. She glanced about the room again in search of any way out, but found none. Judging by the smell and the lack of windows, she deduced that she was underground…probably _far_ underground.

She was startled the iron door to the cell opened and three men walked in, one of them holding a torch to light the way. She bared her teeth and tried to stand up, having great difficulty in doing so.

"This is the demon?"

"Yes. Look at its hands…the _claws_. Its eyes…they're _yellow_."

Once he took one step forward, she pounced at him with her mouth wide open, about to rip his throat out. She was expecting to hear a 'crunch' once her teeth popped his arteries, expected to enjoy the strangely sweet and salty taste of blood, but the chain around her neck yanked her back along with the cuffs around her wrists. The man in front of her just smiled and said, "You are indeed the dreaded demon we've heard so much about. You must have crawled out of Hell, I assume?"

"What is it that people not get about the fact that I'm from MONTANA?" She pulled at the chains that were attaching her wrists to the wall. As he began to speak, she stood up, a look of suppressed detestation on her features.

"Tell us why you are walking amongst us. Tell us why you have done what you have done, and why you continue doing it."

She said nothing, just stood there with her claws lengthened.

"Not speaking?"

She growled loudly and turned into her wolf form, only to feel that she was suffocating to death from the tight chains. In the midst of transformation, she shrieked and turned back into a human, gasping for breath. She looked up at them, saying, "You truly are evil, aren't you?"

"I am afraid that it is the other way around," he said and pulled out a sword. "But I just want to see if all of those stories are true."

"What are you talking about?" She took steps backwards until her back was against the cold, damp, stone wall. _This never happened in the game!_

"If it's true that you can't die." He quickly thrust the blade forward.

Nemo gasped as it stabbed her through the stomach. _Play dead,_ she thought to herself. Once the sword was withdrawn, she collapsed to the ground on her side, closing her eyes and letting out her breath in one long, soundless movement. She heard them not say anything for a moment.

"It didn't kill it," a man said. "She is merely playing dead!"

"Patience, my friend." Someone said. "Check its pulse."

"Why me? I do not want it to bite my hand off!"

"I am pretty confident that I killed it, but I am ordering _you_ to do so."

After a moment of hesitation, he did bent down next to her and put his hand on her neck. Once they made contact, Nemo quickly bit onto what she could have of his hand and ripped it straight off, throwing it to the other end of the room. Then she bit onto the rest of his arm before he pulled away.

The other men grabbed onto him and tore him from the furious lycanthrope, taking him away to prevent him from bleeding to death.

Nemo was then left alone with this man who appeared to be the leader. She stood back up and said, "Why even try?" She lengthened her fangs.

"Because…you're from _Hell_, so I must banish you back into Hell."

"How? Some exorcism, you religious freak?"

"I am only a humble churchgoer. God…He is the One and Only…He is the reason-"

"_He_ just so happens to be a SHE! And guess what? GOD IS A DRAGON, you weren't made in his image! No one is made in his image! Are you truly _that_ blind?" She roared. _That's why I have a dragon on my collar. I don't even know if there is a god..._

"You will die for saying such things about Him!"

"She doesn't care! She doesn't care if I'm a werewolf, but she _does_ care if you kill something you shouldn't. I'm not saying that I shouldn't die…I shouldn't even _exist_, but I do. Why? Chance and probability. Now I swear that I will break out of these chains and send you right up to her."

"Why talk such foolishness? You-"

"God is my sister, dammit!" She shifted around in her chains. "And she _loves_ wolves, but she's not the reason I exist. There's more than one of me, you know, and it's all thanks to science, genetics and chemistry to be exact. I wasn't chosen to be a wolf, I just am. I don't even belong here, but I am here. And I'm glad that I'm here. I'm really just some mutant freak that can cause rapid cell growth and extremely swift necrosis and change it to what my chemistry and biology tells it to." She looked up at him, suppressing her tears. "I just wanna go home."

He looked at her oddly, just standing there with the flickering torch in his hand. "I will be back momentarily…and you aren't going anywhere." He then left her, closing the door, locking it.

She threw herself forward repeatedly, attempting to break the chains. The only thing she succeeded in doing was giving herself bloody wrists and ankles plus one seriously sore neck. The chains wouldn't break no matter what she did. She even attempted gnawing them apart. In complete and utter defeat, she laid down on the ground with a saddened expression and thought about Altair. Least thinking about him brought her some comfort.

A different group of people arrived in her cell this time. They had strange smiles on their faces; smiles that Nemo immediately recognized them to have the intent of maliciousness.

* * *

Altair stood on a rooftop adjacent to the prison that Nemo was in. He leapt from where he was with a running start and landed on the edge of the building, then scrambled his way up to the top. He needed some way to get inside, but he found none. He went around for hours on end all in the attempt to find a way inside. If only _he_ could speak to animals; then he would tell Seema and Fath and another little creature that could sneak their way inside and find Nemo. Then Seema and Fath could barge in and cause a ruckus, allowing him easy entrance. It'd be a messy method, but since he can't speak to animals, it's an impossible method.

He sat down on the rooftop and sighed with frustration. He was confident that Nemo was strong enough to get herself out, but if she couldn't then he would be left to do so. He needed to get her back somehow and he needed to it fast; he couldn't risk her getting seriously injured or worse, dead.

* * *

**Oh noes D:**

**Yeah, this was definitely a shorter chapter. When do things ever go to plan for poor Altair?**

**I don't have much else to say. You'll find out what they did to Nemo in the next chapter. I'm telling you, it's not good ):**


	11. Assassination

**…**

* * *

Altair sat upon the rooftop, annoyance strewn about his every feature. He had attempted to find out information through other people about an alternate route perhaps, but apparently the ones who captured her made her apprehension completely furtive and had the frustrating intention on keeping it highly confidential, so no one knew anything about the matter. The most promising places to get inside was through the top, but there was a difficulty, as always; all of the windows were barred in such a manner that there wasn't nearly enough room for him to sneak through. Then he saw that the entrance to the prison was a rather tall one and had rafters that he could climb upon, but there was absolutely no way for him to get to them. No climbable areas were around the entrance.

He sighed loudly and closed his eyes, grunting in frustration.

Nemo, on the other paw, was also not doing good by any means.

The werewolf thrashed around as several men were restraining her, but they weren't getting very far. They were being kept at bay for fear of losing body parts and most likely their life, and for those who did manage to lay even a finger on her got smacked into the adjacent wall. She was far too powerful for them.

A soldier picked up a metal pole-most likely for raising something-and thwacked it across her head. She yelped loudly and backed up against the wall. As it came at her again, she bit onto it and ripped it out of the man's grasp. Now everyone kept away from her. She was dangerous enough with the chains and shackles on; no one wanting to know what horrifying things she could possibly inflict upon them with a pointed metal stick.

The metal thing clanged against the ground as she let go of it. She was only defending herself, but it proving to be extremely difficult.

"Alright. Enough is enough," one of the soldiers said and grabbed a shield as other took out various weapons that they could use to beat her with. "Knock it unconscious. It must be moved."

All what she remembered was being beaten well over half to death before she finally blacked out due to getting whacked on the head.

When she woke up, she was lying on her underside with her head turned to the side. She fluttered her eyes and squeezed her fists shut, her shoulder blades popping out from the skin as they tensed to support the weight now applied to them. A hand rose to her head from the pain as if it would make the throbbing go away. It was then that she realized she was in a totally different room, one that had blood stains smeared across the walls with crazy shadows flickering about the cell from the torchlights outside. Instead of there being a heavy metal door, there was just a thickly barred door, most likely for easier observation for whomever would be watching. She was still chained to the wall, but the chains were much longer than the last ones, giving her a small amount of freedom to move.

She used her arms to drag herself into a corner of the cell and curled halfway into a ball. She opened her eyes and saw a rat scuttling around in the corner with tiny whiskers twitching and a small nose sniffing the air. His beady little eyes glanced over at her, only to turn towards the wall as if there was a source of food nearby. As she watched the rat, an idea came into her mind.

"Hey, rat…" she said weakly. "Please come here, I can't talk that loudly."

The rat, unsure of whether she was a threat or not, took a few steps closer.

"I need you to help me."

* * *

Altair remained on the rooftop, still contemplating about different methods to break in. A temporary army of animals would be effective for bombarding the entrance but again, for him, that was impossible.

A small squeak came to his ears, catching his attention for a brief moment. When he saw that it was just a mere rat, he ignored the creature and gazed back out over the building adjacent to his position.

The squeaking became louder. He looked over at the rodent with slight curiosity as the creature began pawing at the air and swinging its tail about, almost as if to get his attention. Sighing, he turned away again. This time, the rat jumped on him and bit his hand, then jumped off quick enough so that he didn't give the man enough time to strike him.

Altair stood up, attempting to scare the creature away. When the rat wouldn't leave, he knew that something was up. Then another rat appeared and dashed over to the two, squeaking to the first one. It seemed as if he was communicating, but the second rat quickly ran away after a few seconds.

He bent down close to the rat and said, "Can you understand me?" The rat stood up on his hind legs and sniffed the air, whiskers twitching. Then the rat scampered past his feet, stopping one he was six meters away. He looked back at the man, almost as if he was waiting for him. Altair was positive that this was Nemo's form of saying 'help,' and upon seeing as to how she apparently asked a rat to fetch him, things were obviously not good. It meant that she wasn't currently capable of escaping by herself…which definitely said a lot.

The rat eventually lead him into the streets. Altair followed, noting the fact that the creature continued looking back at every now-and-then to check that he was there.

After a while of running around the city, the rat came to a stop near a covered area on the ground. It looked like it was a pipeline, but it could also have been a sewer. The rat motioned down at the cap covering it, then looked back up at him. _I hope that this rat knows where to go, otherwise I am going to squish it with my boot._ He grunted as he tore the cover off from where it was tightly secured, then pushed it aside. He jumped down, realizing that the interior was dry with not even the slightest bit of moisture to be found, most likely indicating that it was old and had been unused for a long time. The pipe was large enough for him to stand up and walk as long as he remained bent over. The only problem was that it was pitch black.

Altair looked above himself and saw the rat jump down. He extended a hand and caught the small creature, saying, "I don't know if you can understand me, but if you can, then please lead me to Nemo." He switched his eyes to eagle vision and was satisfied upon seeing that the rat was a bright yellow. He set the creature on the ground and watched it run away. The rat left behind a yellow trail which allowed him to follow easily, he just needed to be careful for anything else that would be on the ground…since he was technically 'blind' at the moment.

In following the rat, he found himself stumbling over random objects, unable to see anything but the yellow trail. The rat would stop intermittently and wait for him to catch up, then would begin running away. He lead him through the entire maze of pipes until they reached an area that was a dead end, and the only way up was through an opening in the top. The rat climbed up the wall and came out through the gratings of the cover, then scampered away out of sight.

"Wait, rat, I still need you!" Altair whispered, only to realize that he was saying a completely unnecessary thing. _Yes, of course, as if the rat can understand English._

He climbed up to the gratings and grabbed hold of them, dangling while trying to figure out how to remove the grates. He switched his vision to normal again, blinking a few times to adjust to the lighting.

The rat came back with his beady, shiny eyes and his twitching whiskers. He sniffed the man's hand and then turned around, almost as if he were speaking to something.

A platoon of fifty rats came around the gratings and began doing something to the bars, but whatever it was, Altair couldn't see from his angle. He let go of the gratings and figured that the rats were going to remove the iron bars.

Somehow, within a few minutes, the rats _did_ remove the bars, allowing him entry. They all stuck their heads over the hole in the ground, curious at the being who climbed his way up. They parted to make a path for him once he was on the floor, then rejoined as if they were drawn to each other like magnets.

Altair bent down to the rats and said, "Can you take me to the werewolf?"

They squeaked and glanced at each other, climbing over one another in miniature heaps. All of them dispersed suddenly except for the one that lead him, who scampered up his pant leg and rested on his shoulder.

He quickly saw why they ran away so quickly. The room, glowing red from the few flaming torchlights mounted on the dark walls, became brighter. He turned around and saw a group of soldiers heading his way, so without any other options, he dashed over to a pillar that rested itself halfway within a wall. With his back pressed against the stone structure, he held a hand up to the rat to prevent him from making too much noise. When the soldiers passed, he peered out from the side, seeing that no one else was coming.

It seemed likely that they would hold Nemo in the lowest parts of the prison since it's more difficult to get out of than the higher levels, but he was annoyed with the fact that the 'basements' were a gigantic cavernous labyrinth of cells and bars. Not only that, but it was extremely hot and dark, the only source of light was coming from torches that were lit only very intermittently throughout the entire place. It also smelt _terrible_, a dozen times worse than a sewer and a slaughterhouse full of rats put together. It wreaked of human odors and sweat, sewage, corpses, rats, and several other things that he couldn't identify. As he passed, desperate men extended their arms from the cages that they were trapped in, asking for help or for something, _anything_ that would aid them. Altair then realized that the people who had imprisoned these men had turned them into animals, only locking them away for their own personal enjoyment or to at least get them out of the streets. Most of the men where probably never going to see the light of day ever again.

The rat jumped onto the ground and scuttled forward, giving Altair the cue to follow. And follow he did, being very wary of the presence of anyone else outside of a cell.

Another guard came out from around a corner, spotting Altair immediately. "Hey, you!" As the man began to draw his sword, Altair charged at him, jumped, and extended his hidden blade, stabbing the man in the neck. Now on top of the man, he closed the soldier's eyes, but as another group of flaming torches came by, he was forced to go into another hiding spot; this time, a nook in the wall that was big enough to hide him.

"What? Someone is down here!" A man roared as he bent over the fallen guard. "Search the area! The rat can't be too far." The noise of metal being pulled from its sheath was heard.

The faction eventually left, but every other guard would be on high alert.

He came out from the hiding spot and continued walking, looking into each and every individual cell as he followed the rodent.

He turned his head in the direction of snarling, growling, barking and snapping noises. Realizing that it was a wolf's sound, he ran in the direction right beside the rat, only to hear the noises stop abruptly. As it echoed through the area, he stopped in his tracks, watching the rat look from left to right. The rat must have been unsure of which direction she was in. Either that or he was confused and/or sensed something that Altair could not. _Damn_, he thought to himself. _Come on, Nemo. Bark at least one more time._

He decided to take a leap of faith and went to the right, sprinting down the hallway. As he was running, he saw a cell door open as a group of men came out from it, one man holding a torchlight. He hid behind a pillar and listened to what they said.

"Torturing me isn't going to do anything," a voice said. Altair immediately recognized it as Nemo's. "I already told you."

"You are lying."

The sound of a whip cracked through the air followed by an ear-piercing yelp, the kind of yelp that a small dog would make whenever somebody stepped on their paw.

"I said it already! Besides, I don't believe in Satan! What does this have anything to do with me?"

Another crack of a whip.

"Where are you from?"

"Montana!"

Another crack.

"Where are you from?"

"Clyde Park, Montana!"

She was whipped again.

"Where are you from, demon?"

"I'm from Clyde Park, Montana!"

Altair winced as a shrill dog-scream came to his ears. They were torturing his wolf, and that made him very, very, _very_ angry.

"Why? A belief is a belief, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's real! If you think I'm from Hell, that's alright, then I'll say I'm from Hell! Just please stop this!"

There were whispers, then a loud 'clang' along with a body falling to the ground.

"What are we going to do with it?"

"Burn it. Not publicly, no; it will escape easily."

"But…where will we execute it?"

"Here, somewhere. But first we must consult with the others, let them know what we are going to do with it. We shall bring the church, as well. They'll make sure that it never comes back."

Altair waited for someone to pass by. Hoping that he timed it correctly, he jumped out from where he was and drove his hidden blade into one man's neck, surprising the group of three. The others were apparently cowards, running away from him without even attempting to put up a fight. Altair just simply chased after them, and once he took one down, he pounced on the back of the last and stole the key. He quickly ran over to the cell that they emerged from and put the key in the lock, turning it. Upon opening the black, iron-barred door, he saw a white figure laying on the ground, unconscious on her side.

He rushed over to her and knelt down. She was naked and covered with blood, a thick chain around her neck causing her to suffocate. Even while unconscious, her body gasped for breath, taking in short, abrupt breaths as her body shook from the coldness. "Nemo, wake up," he said and shook her roughly. When she didn't respond, he tried to break the chain, only to no avail. Cursing to himself, he searched for a lock that may have been on the chain. Once he found one, he used all of the different keys attached to the ring until one fit. Once it did, he unlocked it and took it off, taking hold of the limp girl in his arms. He put the side of his head on her bare chest and heard her heartbeat. It was faint but it was still beating.

Standing up with her bridal-style in his arms, he sprinted out of the cell and started to make his way through the labyrinth, following the rat that had been helping him.

He switched his sight to eagle vision and saw a yellow path on the ground given by the bad-smelling rodent. The major problem with the eagle vision was that he couldn't see exactly where he was stepping (yet again, which would have been profoundly annoying if he wasn't in a hurry), and he can't just go in and out of the vision. A migraine and serious eye strain were _not_ what he needed at the moment. However, it also would have been seriously bad to loose the trail. Stuck between dilemmas, he chose to remain in eagle vision and tried to follow the path as quickly as possible.

A few moments later and he heard footsteps other than his own. He quickly dashed into a corner of the wall, catching his breath while his strong arms ached as they supported the girl's weight. He went still as the group passed, their bright red figures letting him know that they were obviously enemies.

He set Nemo down and slowly came out from the hiding spot, his blade extended. When one of the men weren't looking, he plunged the blade into his back and covered his mouth, then silently but swiftly ran to another hiding spot. The others in the group stopped and turned towards their suddenly and randomly dead comrade, all saying a mindful of words that mingled together.

Altair grabbed one knife from its sheath and pulled it out, gripping it tightly in his hand. He literally couldn't see _anything_, just a gigantic wall of blackness except for the colors of his enemies the semi-grayish aura coming from the lycanthrope.

When they weren't looking, he threw one knife, satisfied with hearing the man fall. The others became startled and went back-to-back, holding out the torches in front of them to see. "The demon's escaped," one of them said with his sword unsheathed, having the metal weapon tremble in his shaking hands.

Altair felt around for something to climb on to get above them. Once he felt a stone that was bulging out from the others, he hauled himself up and continued to climb his way to the ceiling and to the wooden beams that supported the structure. Now balanced on a rafter, he jumped down from above onto one of the guards and impaled him, then quickly went for the next who was too startled to react. With one man left, he easily took him down by dodging a sword a few times.

He ran back over to the girl who was a black wolf in his vision, then picked her up and continued to follow the yellow path. Once he finally reached the stairs, he sighed relief and quickly ascended them. He trusted that this rat knew exactly where to exit _other_ than the front door.

Sticking to the sides of the walls, he made his way to an area where guards wouldn't be able to see him. There was a small entryway that lead to the top that would allow entrance for both of them once the werewolf became conscious again.

He set her down on the ground and crawled into another hiding spot for safety. The air down in the basements was stifling and thick, making breathing difficult.

Nemo twitched for a moment, then began to move her entire body, now seemingly to be halfway awake. "Altair?" She said and grasped the cloth on his chest. Altair wrapped and arm around her and pulled both of them back a little farther into the hiding spot.

"I need you to turn into a wolf," he said to her. "I'm getting both of us out of here."

She said nothing…and did nothing, too. Was she just talking in her sleep, dreaming about him?

He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow and took in a breath of the suffocating air, leaning his back fully against the wall. He decided to wait for Nemo to wake up, but if it became too long, he would be forced to waken her. They couldn't spend too much time in a place that was already on high alert, never mind a prison.

The girl slowly sat upright and looked around, a dazed visage on her face. She asked where she was once she finally realized that she was being rescued, but what was at first confusion then turned into anger and fear.

"Nemo, I'm here to _help_," Altair said and held her close. "I know a way out, but I need you to turn into a wolf-"

"I can't," she said quickly. "I just can't. I tried. I couldn't." She brought her arms up around herself and huddled closely to him, shivering terribly, desperate to get even the slightest amount of warmth from his body. Some of the lacerations on her body had reopened and began bleeding again, causing pools of blood to form on the ground. "Please, take me home. I wanna go home."

"I will." He forced her-gently-to stand up, then made his way to a ladder that would lead them out.

"The rat says that there are five guards at the top of the ladder."

After thinking for a second, he said, "Stay right here for a moment." He motioned for her to remain at the bottom of the ladder. She did as instructed and hugged herself again for warmth.

She felt very dizzy, but from what she didn't know. She was still confused and was aching everywhere, shivering and trembling with fear and from the cold. By the time Altair came back down, she only followed him, not saying anything, not responding to anything that he said. She was thinking about what they had done to her…the things that they did were unforgivable and completely _outlandish_. Not only that, but they were frightening….

Once they reached the sunlight, Altair didn't have to remain blinded anymore and switched his vision to normal. When he turned around to see how she was doing, she collapsed on the floor, too weak to move much. She drifted into unconsciousness again; the last thing she remembered was being picked up by warm hands while hearing nearly inaudible words.

When she finally came to yet again, the sun was setting and she was in an alleyway with some sort of cloth covering her body; a blanket, perhaps? Once her vision was restored to normal vision, she realized that it was Altair's robes that were covering her, and the thing that she was up against was Altair. He was still awake with no emotion on his face, but since his muscles were tensed it was obvious that he was very bothered.

She was so weak that the only thing she managed to mutter out was 'Alty' instead of 'Altair.' When she tried speaking again, the only thing that came out was a wisp of breath.

"I'm here," he said and tightened his grip. "You're safe."

_Here? Where is here?_ She thought to herself. _Safe?_ She clutched the robes that were draped on her naked body and closed her eyes again, letting out small whimpers of pain.

* * *

Altair walked over to the girl who now was wearing a white tunic that was still far too big for her and grey pants that just didn't seem to fit her right. She was sitting on the pillows, her knees tucked into her chest with her arms wrapped around them. He kneeled down next to her and put one arm on her back, stroking her gently. "Nemo, can you tell me what happened?"

She said nothing and continued to stare off into space, not paying attention to the rafiq as he joined them in the room. "Perhaps this will help?" He said and offered a bowl of chicken soup; something she definitely wouldn't deny. But, to their surprise…

"No thanks."

He offered it to her again, but she just ignored him, obviously wanting him to go away. Once he did, Altair said, "You can tell me anything, you know."

Nemo was silent for a while until she decided to speak.

"They kicked me. And hit me. And made me bleed. And hurt me."

He knew that they had tortured her. That fact alone made him very grave, but he was also silently and expressionlessly livid, bottling up the anger inside of himself. He hated that feeling.

"I wanna go home. That's all I want. I want to go home. I miss Montana. I miss Markoh. I miss Clyde Park. I miss the times when we went to Flathead Lake and the National Bison Range. I miss my bed. I miss my school of seventy people. I just wanna go home." She hugged herself a little tighter as her chest quivered.

Altair simply remained sitting there, speechless. How could he possibly continue with his mission knowing of what happened to Nemo? What could he do for her? Or more importantly, what could she do for _herself_? She was just _tortured_, so of course she was slightly traumatized. And suddenly things just became a heck of a lot more dangerous for herself and for everyone she was associated with.

"If there is anything I can do for you…" he said to her.

"No. Just go away."

He said nothing but remained where he was.

"Please. Just go away. I need to be alone for a moment." She said.

Altair stood up and walked into the adjacent room where the rafiq was.

"Should I inform Al Mualim?" The rafiq asked.

"No. Don't tell anyone of this incident."

* * *

"ALRIGHT, I'M MAD." Nemo exclaimed very loudly. "I am going to kill some worthless scum-licking bottom feeder and I am going to personally eat him myself!"

"I see that you are better…?" Altair said in an uncertain voice.

"Course I am! You get dibs on the big fat dude, I get dibs on every other faggot that'll be there."

_She's only covering up how she feels,_ Altair thought. _Inside, she is deeply disturbed and probably wants nothing to do with anything right now. I give her credit for doing the opposite of what she wishes to do._ "Then we should leave soon."

"As long as you've got the info, I'm happy with that. Let there be carnage of evil plot bunnies who will soon eat lettuce instead of carrots!" She suddenly felt happy in using one of her favorite fanfiction terms.

Altair shook his head at her strange remarks and sayings.

But inside, Nemo _was_ just covering up what she was feeling. She figured it would be worthless and useless to sulk at the moment. She can be depressed later, but she was aching on the inside so hard that it was equivalent to getting rammed by a truck. Or rather, it hurt just as much as whenever silver touched her skin.

She climbed up and over the wall with her friend and began bounding across rooftops to the 'fat dude's' house…erm…mansion, rather.

* * *

Both of them walked in through the entrance (they actually got to take the easy entrance for once), easily blending in with the nobles who were attending the party. It was highly decorated with tapestries, plants, flowers and rugs that hung about the entire plaza-like area. In the center was a fountain with a statue of a woman holding a jar, red water pouring out of it into a pool of water that surrounded the structure. It was then that Nemo could smell the alcohol and realized that it was red-colored wine instead. Not only that, but she could also smell a pungent-like substance; poison, and it wasn't the poison that's in alcohol. Among the people attending were men and women alike, covered in expensive clothes and silks, talking and laughing with each other while holding cups of wine and dishes and various foods. There were belly-dancers and snake-dancers wearing golden clothes and translucent veils, dancing beautifully with diamonds and other precious gems adorning their outfits. Birds flew from plant to plant, singing, "Don't drink the water! Don't drink the water! Don't eat the food! Don't eat the food!" They seemed persistent but obviously didn't make any attempts to save the people. Instead, they were only warning their kind.

They probably couldn't care less about the people.

"Nemo, if he gets away, I'm relying on you to chase after him." Altair said.

"Trust me, if I can get a hundred chickens in a thirty-second chicken chase, then I can get one big fat guy in ten." She remained close to him, remembering how the entire scene went. Upon bringing up the memories, she lead them off to the sidelines for safety.

After a moment, the people began cheering as Abu'l Nuquod appeared from his balcony. He put his massive hand on a guard that was on the rooftop, saying something to him. The guy may have dressed well, but he was just as ugly as ugly could possibly get. His stomach was as big as a cow and he was as hairy as a malamute in winter time. His round face was covered with what were either large warts or boils and, from a distance, he appeared to have had a lazy eye. His red robes had golden thread on the edges, matching the golden silk belt and brown pants that he was wearing. The shirt that he wore was low-cut and showed much of his hairy chest. Wrapped around his head was a white cloth that reminded Nemo of the Sultan from Disney's Aladdin.

The crowd soon began to quiet down as Abu'l began to speak:

"Welcome, welcome, thank you all for joining me this evening. Please, eat, drink, enjoy all the pleasures I have to offer." Wow. Even for a human, his voice was as deep as a grizzly bear's bellow…just not nearly as loud. "Take your time, I will wait. I trust everything is to your…satisfaction?" He said, adding an edge of 'evilness' to his voice.

Nemo looked over at a few people who were near the fountain, filling their cups with the wine. That was highly unfortunate for them….

"Good, good, it pleases me to see you all so happy. These are dark days, my friends, and we must enjoy this bounty while we still can. War threatens to consume us all. Saladin bravely fights for what he believes in and you are always there to support him without question. It is your generosity that allows this campaign to continue, so I propose a toast then, to _you_, my dear friends, which has brought us to where we are today. May you be given _everything_ you deserve."

_This is slightly cliché…but that's the least of my problems._ Nemo thought and gazed up at the man with a frown on her face. All lies and deception. She thought of this man like how she thinks of politicians; all lies and no promises. Pft, except this guy was three hundred time _worse_. Most politicians probably would not poison their own guests and then order them to be assassinated. Regardless, she felt rather sorry for this man. He didn't have good looks and he was profoundly disgruntled with the world, and himself, as well.

The crowd became more rambunctious with delight at the man's words.

"Such kindness!" Abu'l said. "I didn't think it in you! You, who had been so quick to judge me, and so cruel. Oh, you ingrates; you take me for a fool? You think that I have not heard the words you spit behind my back…well, I _have_, and I fear I can _never_ forget." The crowd began booing and started to show signs of anger and confusion. Some even started throwing insults and gave a lot of those what-the-heck-is-this-guy-talking-about looks. "But that is not why I called you here tonight, no; I wish to speak more of this war and _your_ part in it. You give up your coin, quick as can be, knowing all too well that it buys the deaths of thousands. You don't even know _why_ we fight. "The satiety of the Holy Land," you'll say, or the evil invasion of our enemies. But these are lies, tell yourselves." He gave a deep laugh, bearing a few missing teeth with his ugly smile. "No, all this suffering is born of fear and hate. It bothers you that they are different, just as it bothers you that _I_ am different." He held a large cup up to his mouth and drank from it. He set it down and said, "Compassion. Mercy. Tolerance. These words mean nothing to _any_ of you! These words mean nothing to those infidel invaders who ravage our land in search of gold and glory, and so I say ENOUGH!" He bellowed, motioning for someone or something.

Nemo looked up at the balconies with Altair and saw archers running to the edges of the building, looking down upon the people, readying their bows. Abu'l did good planning; with the crowd distracted by him, they wouldn't notice the archers that would bring several of them to their deaths.

"I've pledged myself to another cause, one that will bring about a new world in which all people might live side-by-side…in peace." He brought his hand up to a guard's back and looked at him as if he were his own son. "…A pity none of you will live to see…"

A man dressed in golden robes wearing a red belt made of silk dropped his cup, the metal thing twanging and clanging against the stone ground. The man coughed violently with his hand up to his throat as if he were choking, then collapsed on the ground. Several men soon dropped like flies sprayed by with a can of bug spray. As they fell, people started screaming, now in a terror.

"Kill anyone who tries to escape." Abu'l said.

Everyone started running around in panic as arrows soared through the air from above, stabbing people in places that were sure to kill them.

"Kill the archers." Altair ordered and sprinted off without notice. He quickly scaled the wall while Nemo ran right past him, grabbing onto an archer's shirt. He screamed as she flung him overhead onto the ground twenty feet below, listening to a few cracks as he connected with the floor.

The werewolf ran in front of the assassin, slicing the archers in half with her claws to clear a path for him. Once the last one fell, she jumped off from over the edge and landed on the highest point of the statue mounted on the fountain. She kicked her legs and landed on the other edge of the adjacent balcony, catching onto the ledge with her claws.

She surprised an archer by snapping his neck, then thrust her arm through the chest of the next. She wheeled around and caught an arrow that was soaring towards her, preventing it from hitting her. She pulled her arm back and threw the arrow forward as if it were a dart, stabbing another man in the chest.

As Altair approached, Abu'l saw and began to run away, yelling, "Get away from me!"

For a man as heavy as he was, Abu'l ran almost as fast as Altair could. Perhaps it was just the fear that was driving him, the adrenaline rush causing him to run faster than he normally could.

After a few moments of chasing the man through the streets, he began to tire, allowing Altair to catch up to him quickly. Once he was close enough, he jumped forward and pounced on the man's back, slicing his neck with his hidden blade.

He helped set Abu'l down on the ground, unable to support the man's weight like how he always does with all of his other targets in order to give them a bit of comfort before they close their eyes forever. A small act of mercy, Altair thought, but it was a worthwhile one. Instead, he just gently clung onto the man's clothes that were on his chest. He honestly felt a bit of pity for Abu'l. The man had been plagued and ravaged by other people's words, causing his own inner self to suffer from torture that had been inflicted on him. The pain then started to eat it's way at him, withering away the person he had once been, changing into an entirely differently being, one that would murder innocent men and women in the sake of creating a 'new world.'

"Be at peace now," said Altair. "Their words can no longer bring harm."

"Why have you done this…?" He said and strained to look at his killer.

"You stole money from those you claimed to lead, sent it away for some unknown purpose." He noticed that Abu'l began to drift off, so he gave him a gentle shake to keep him awake. "I want to know where it's gone and why."

"Look at me. My very nature is an affront to the people I ruled. And these noble robes did little more than to 'muffle' their shouts of hate."

"So this is about vengeance, then…."

"No, not vengeance, but my conscience. How could I fight a war and service to the same god that calls me an abomination?"

"If you do not serve Saladin's cause, then who's?"

"In time you'll come to know them. I think…perhaps…you already do."

"Then why hide? Why these dark deeds?"

"Is it so different from your own work? You take the lives of men and women, strong in the conviction that their deaths will improve the lives of those left behind? A finer evil…for a greater good? _We are the same_."

"No. We are nothing alike."

"Ah, but I see it in your eyes. You doubt. You cannot stop us. We will have…our new world…." Abu'l's hand fell from Altair's arm as he became limp and closed his eyes.

Altair took out the eagle's feather and smeared it in the blood of his now-assassinated target.

He sat there for a moment, registering the words just spoken.

He was startled when he heard Nemo come crashing down. "We gotta go, dude!" She said and grabbed onto him with her mouth, now a wolf running on all fours.

Altair clung onto her as she jumped up onto a rooftop from where she was on the ground, landing gracefully. She didn't appear to be in much of a mood to have a gigantic runaround the city, so in choosing to take an easy way out of the chase, she dove into a roof garden that was covered with orange drapes. She laid herself flat against the plants on the inside, slowing her breathing while Altair knelt down in a corner. They remained silent, glancing at the drapes that were moving with the gentle winds.

Altair's eyes followed a shadow of a man who was walking by slowly, most likely surveying the garden. The anxiety built as the shadow stopped moving and the man turned to the garden. Then, as he moved the piece of cloth…

…Altair swiftly stabbed him in the chest. Their cover was going to be blown anyway…

Nemo barked and jumped from where she was, getting caught in the drapes as she came out into the open. As she quickly took down their followers, she also struggled to get the frikkin' things off of her claws.

She kicked her back paw at a soldier and crushed his chest, then picked up another with her mouth and threw him over the edge of the building. "I'm getting really pissed off!" She roared and clamped her jaws around a fallen soldier, the pressure nearly severing him in half. "Altair, just leave, I've got it handled!"

Altair pushed a soldier away from him and brought him to the ground, raising his sword. He thrust his sword down on the man and kicked him to get him out of the way. He gave her a glare that said 'not after the last time.'

"I mean it, you idiot!"

After taking down two more soldiers, it was obvious that he was refusing in his own tacit manner.

Nemo killed off the last of them and threw the assassin on her back. She sprinted away, new soldiers now pursuing them.

Nemo realized that the jump she was planning on taking was too long for her to make, so she was forced to stop in her tracks, sliding on the ground several meters forward, stopping right at the edge of the building. She paced back and forth, trying to contemplate on what to do. She felt herself becoming more 'animal-like' as the threats increased.

As their enemies neared, she went low to the ground and barked at them, arching her back like a cat. The soldiers stopped where they were, unsure of whether or not to approached the ferocious beast.

She suddenly stopped barking and loosened herself, raising the upper half of her body. The soldiers look at her curiously as the corners of her lips appeared to have been drawn up slightly. A strange phenomenon seeing as to how she can't smile, but the lip-curving was so diminutive that it was practically impossible to see.

She went down low to the ground and sprung backwards as if someone just released a spring, landing gracefully on the ground. She whipped around, plowing through the crowds that were in her way. The people finally became more sparse, allowing her to sprint at her full speed. What she didn't know was that an entirely different platoon of soldiers was setting up something similar to a tripwire.

As she was running, she heard someone yell, "NOW!"

She was surprised when she felt something hit her front legs, causing her trip and tumble forward. Altair was flung off of her into a pile of hay while she slid across into a pile of people, causing a semi-domino effect.

Altair was about to stand up out of the hay until he realized that he could see through it, so, remaining in his hiding spot, he watched Nemo stand up and kill them all one-by-one. He realized that if he stayed, he would only be slowing her down. Without much other options and while the soldiers were distracted, the assassin slipped out from where he was and escaped the scene.

Nemo jumped and rammed herself into a pile of soldiers to get them off of her. They were clinging like thorns from a cactus and were just as difficult to get off, too.

Now she was the equivalent to a wild animal, running amok while destroying what she perceived to be a threat. In the result of her becoming temporarily 'feral,' she had a panic reaction. While most creatures have a 'fight or flight' reaction, she has a 'fight and flight' reaction. She started to run away from the scene into the only place that she could go at the moment, which just so happened to be a covered market area.

She threw people off to the side while she ran, eventually jumping up to the wooden beams that helped to support the structure. The wolf jumped from beam-to-beam, only to have something tangle around her feet and knock her out of the air.

She hit the ground hard, snapping at the rope that now tied her feet together. With a few slices of her razor-sharp teeth, she bit off the rope, throwing it to the side.

The people inside of the marketplace consisted of regular commoners and citizens, storekeepers, butchers, and soldiers. Everyone was now running around in a panic, the ever-so-famous 'demon' now appearing to have a bloodlust in her eyes.

Nemo grabbed onto a man and chomped on him three times with her mouth, throwing him into a store, crushing the wood that served as both a counter and a barricade for the storekeeper. Swords, spears, and arrows pierced her sides, causing her to fight back with even more force. She bit onto the weapons that she was being stabbed with, pulling them out of her body, the uncomfortable feeling of flesh healing itself causing pain where the wounds were. Now cornered, with teeth bared and lips drawn, she killed every soldier and guard that was near her.

Shrapnel and merchandise was strewn about the ground with the bodies, boxes crushed by the whole fight.

With one man left, Nemo corner him and stared him down with her eyes that were glowing a reddish color from the flaming torches mounted on the walls. Long strands of saliva dripped from her mouth with her gigantic teeth bared, ears flat against her head, claws glistening in the red light, spine arched with her body low to the ground, fur appearing to be bristled and black from the shadows.

The last man, who was sitting on the ground with his back against a shop's front, looked absolutely terrified but was too frightened to move as he looked into the creature's eyes, definite that he was going to be ripped to shreds to a point as to where there wouldn't even be enough of him to retrieve for a burial.

There was a long, eerie wolf howl that reached their ears. It lasted about nine seconds, starting at a higher pitch and descending to a lower octave.

Nemo stopped baring her teeth and loosened herself, turning her head off to the side with her ears straight up to listen to the noise. Another howl was heard, this time being shorter that started from a lower octave and then rose to a higher one, only to fall in pitch yet again.

Nemo looked at the man and drew her lips back in a way that said 'you're lucky' and then sprinted off to the side, now running away, swerving from left to right to dodge large objects that were in her path.

The soldier at the moment was still trying to register what had happened, but he felt awkwardly strange that he was only one who survived because she had _let him go_, something that-from the stories that he has heard-she has never done before. He felt as if a god granted him the privilege to live with a second chance.

* * *

Altair brought his hands up to his mouth again and did the best howl that he could have possibly done. He wasn't sure if it even sounded like a wolf's, but he surely did hope that Nemo would be able to hear it and would come back.

He waited on top of the Assassins Bureau until he saw the wolf bounding across the rooftops, no followers behind.

The white-robed assassin (who strangely didn't have any blood on himself) jumped down from the rooftop and landed on the floor, taking a few steps forward in order to avoid the wolf that was soon to join him.

He waited a few seconds, until…

Instead of jumping down, the werewolf used her claws to keep herself vertical on the wall, making scraping noises as her weight forced her to slide down a bit. She barked at Altair, jumping to a different wall, suspending herself with the sharp claws.

"Easy, Nemo," he said and took a few steps back. She looked like she was about to lunge at any moment. "Calm down."

After a few seconds, her entire expression loosened and she said, "Sorry. I was just scared, that's all." She let herself fall down to the ground, dangling her tail downward.

Altair, at the moment, was thinking that she looked like she had taken a shower of blood.

"Come." He said and motioned for her to follow him. She did, padding into the adjacent room.

"Word has reached me of your success, Altair. And I see that you two also had a bit of trouble…?" He said, looking at the wolf. Nemo growled, drawing back the front part of her upper lip.

"Don't push me, _bucko_," she said in a warning tone.

"My apologies." He said, turning his gaze towards Altair, who was currently taking out the bloodied feather from his pouch.

"Abu'l Nuquod's reign of terror is at an end."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"He killed them." Altair said. "The men and women at his party. It was poison-a coward's tool-blamed them for the war, said _he _wished to end it."

The rafiq grabbed his paintbrush and dabbed a few dots of black on the pot he was working on. After a while he said, "Strange…but then again, the Merchant King was always known to be a bit…different. Perhaps this was simply a symptom of his madness?"

"_Perhaps_." Altair said, maybe repeating.

"You sound unconvinced. Speak with Al Mualim then; he may offer a better explanation."

"Yes…we'll see what he has to say."

As Altair passed, Nemo whispered, "Are you okay? You seem…bothered…disturbed. Bothered and disturbed. You alright?" She followed beside him.

"I'm fine."

She stopped walking and watched him sit down amongst the piles of pillows. "Liar."

"Hm?" He looked up at her.

"You're not fine." She attempted to put on the best wolf-frown she was capable of doing.

"So be it."

"Don't 'so be it' me." She walked over to him. "Speak up for yourself, say what's bothering you."

Altair said nothing in response, but he had obviously listened.

A while later, the rafiq entered the room with several towels. "I suggest that you clean yourself, Nemo." He said. "You really shouldn't be bloodied like how you are now."

"Uh…you _do_ have a point. Um…should I use the fountain over there, or something?"

"It's probably the best choice." He said-almost cheerfully-and set the pillows down beside them.

"Thanks." Nemo said softly and stared the fluffiness. "Do you mind maybe going into the other room?"

Altair said nothing but stood up and walked into the other room, giving her privacy.

Nemo transformed herself back into a human, using the towels and the water from the fountain to clean herself of the blood. Soon enough, the towels looked like there was a murder scene…and upon thinking of that, it reminded her of when she was still being held captive. Fear and anger returned to her, filling up her insides with the highly unpleasant feeling.

She still had no idea how to thank Altair. She now has a debt that she couldn't possibly repay.

* * *

**9,098 words, a little over 20 pages**

**OH. MY. GOD. I went over this thing over fifteen times…actually it was much more because I reread some things countless times (I lost count a while ago O_O). I've become obsessive with proofreading and trying to make it perfect, but hey, it's really fun! Giving people words to read :) It's art in literature! Just not text-art. I actually gave myself a deadline because now it's April vacation (we get a nine-day vacation in April where I'm from) and I'm going to be going out of the country for about five days. So I finished it yay :D**

**I also discovered that I can use YouTube to copy down how the scenes went :D yeah, it took my THAT long for me to realize. Sheesh, I could have used it earlier. I tried copying down the words as I had it playing in the background but then I was like, "Wait! No! I can't type that fast!" so I wound up listening to a lot of stuff about five times or over. But wow, Abu'l Nuquod has the longest introduction to any other target I believe. That's probably one of the reasons why this chapter is so long. I could have split it up into two shorter chapters, but that seemed rather pointless if I did that, so I decided just to keep it all in one.**

**Wow, I'm sorry that took so long to update. I had friggin' Writer's Block for about two weeks but (thankfully), while eating breakfast at a quaint little restaurant with my father, my dad resolved it for me :D He gave me the idea of the rats. And of course, I started doing a lot of stuff with my drawing tablet and I found myself doing things other than working on my chapter. And then I also took two days off from school for a 'mental health day,' as we like to say. I actually got two, so I was joyous :D And I got to go to an art museum! Too bad lobster rolls haven't come out yet -_- I guess that I'll just have to wait about another month.**

**Yes, I like lobster, just as long as there aren't any eggs. We were in a restaurant one time and my sister ordered a lobster roll and after a while she started seeing these little red dots all over it and she didn't want to eat it afterwards. I didn't know what it was…maybe a spice or something…and then my dad was like, "Oh, those are lobster eggs." Me and my sister were like O_O Yes, he did eat the lobster eggs, claimed them to be a delicacy. I suppose that there's nothing wrong with it…we're actually picky eaters up here in New England compared to the rest of the world…so it's nothing to be grossed out about; I just thought that it was…strange and I personally wouldn't want to eat it.**

**Again, I'm sorry that it took so long to update.**

**Sometime in the range of two weeks I'm probably going to have more comics and fanart of Assassins Creed on Deviantart just because I'm going to be on a plane for a while…I just hope that I don't forget color pencils, because if I do, then I'm going to look like O.O and kick myself in the face.**

**Oh yeah, and I got to do a little research on Montana, and yes, they do have a National Bison range. I bet it looks beautiful :D And Clyde Park is a real place. Last I checked the population was just a little over three hundred forty, so I thought that it was a good place to make Nemo's past home since it's such a small town and it's suburban.**

**So…peace out peoples! Feel free to tell me what you thought of it. Too long? Too short (I doubt that anyone thought it was too short)? Too repetitive (I think so)? Too little of something? Too much of something? Yeah, you get the point ^_^**

**Thank you again very much for everyone reading the story, following the story, and/or leaving reviews :D It makes me feel happy :DDD**


	12. Rescuers of the Orphaned

**WOOT I just came back from vacation and guess what I ate? Conch salad with goat pepper, mahi-mahi, blackened red snapper, squid, octopus (they were full octopus, but of course they were small. You could even see the suction cups on the tentacles!) and it was also the very first time I had veal, which made me feel kind of sad D: I also ate a sundae out of a coconut! But I also kissed and hugged a dolphin, went down this huge water thing called 'The Abyss' which is pitch-black and actually comes out into a cave-like thing were aquariums are off to the sides (they're sequestered), I swam with fish and saw my very first coral reef, I went down something called 'The Leap of Faith' (XD), I jumped off the back of a boat twice, and I saw a lizard! I never see lizards! I also got sunburned. I don't tan; I burn…even though I literally smothered myself with SPF 70 sunscreen, I still got burnt. I even got sunburned on my feet! How does that happen (I actually know **_**how **_**it happens, I just find it to be really weird O.o)? Oh well.**

**Oh yeah, and now my feet are peeling O_O**

**Alright, now I'm going to stop rambling on.**

**Oh yeah, and there was a cat on the plane!**

**Please enjoy the story. I put my heart into it!…sort of…**

* * *

It was now dusk, the Assassins Bureau glowing an orangey color because of the setting sun. The hot and dry air was now cool and comfortable, the perfect kind of temperature that just couldn't get any better. Nemo was listening to music from her phone while drawing a still life of the palm tree off in the corner of the room. Altair was enjoying a piece of fruit while lounging on the pillows, probably thinking of absolutely nothing.

Nemo vigorously used the tip of her B3 pencil to shade in the leaves of the tree, then proceeded to commence crosshatching the shadows of the plant. After about ten more minutes she was completely finished with it and was quite satisfied with the drawing, holding it up to judge the exactness of it. She smiled and stood up, walking back over to the pillows. "I never thought that drawing a tree out of all things would be so much fun."

Altair just turned his eyes towards her and took another bite of the fruit.

The werewolf sat down and flipped to another page. "Please don't move too much." She started sketching Altair again.

"Must you do that?"

"Maybe must I do must do this."

Altair just raised an eyebrow.

"Gimme a break, you're in the perfect position. Maybe I'll draw someone else, just in the position that you're in. Like a princess lounging on a couch."

Another hour passed and her eyes became too tired to draw, so she laid down next to Altair, using his chest as a pillow yet again.

Altair brought an arm around her and sighed, staring at the latticework that was overgrown with plants and vines, allowing just a few of the last rays of sunlight into the room before the moon became the main source of light. He could slightly feel her heartbeat against himself, enjoying the small amount of warmth that her body gave off. He closed his eyes and focused on sleeping.

Nemo awoke feeling somewhat cold. With her eyes still closed, she absent-mindedly extended her right arm, feeling for Altair. When she realized that he wasn't there, she opened her eyes and looked around. _Must be in the other room,_ she thought to herself as she pulled a pillow over herself as a feeble attempt to become warmer. She shivered slightly, teeth chattering. She then realized that her canine teeth were-for some unknown reason-longer and more pointed than usual, poking at the gums every time they came down. Annoyed by it, she tightened her jaws and prevented them from chattering.

She felt a warm hand on her back. Turning around, she saw that it was Altair, holding a bundle in his hand. "I thought I smelt chicken." She said and smiled at him, sitting upright.

"You need to eat something." He threw it over to her, trying his best to not curve his lips as she wasted no time in eating the dead poultry.

Nemo stood up and said, "Thanks. I think I'm set for a few days now. So…are we leaving right now or…what?"

"If you are ready, we shall depart now."

"In that case…let's leave." She bent down and grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.

* * *

In about another half of a day, they would reach Masyaf. The days were simple with an occasional conversation every now-and-then, but it mostly consisted of riding and avoiding platoons of soldiers and camps.

Fath bounced up and down as he galloped over a rugged piece of terrain. He didn't complain, but Nemo knew that his hooves were hurting because of the path. "Don't worry, Fath, it shouldn't be that much longer." Nemo said to him. He just grunted at her and glanced at Seema, who didn't look back at him.

As a group of eleven soldiers that were being lead down the same path were approaching, they brought their horses to a walking pace, putting on low profiles.

Nemo moved her eyes to see them. They widened as she saw a group of five other people shackled behind them, stumbling around from the difficult road. They were being lead by the soldiers, but what really caught her attention was that they were _children_, the oldest one probably being only a thirteen-year-old girl. Their faces were stained with tears, their clothes tattered, weary looks strewn about their every feature.

Once they passed, Nemo road up next to Altair. "Altair, we've got to do something," she whispered.

"No, just leave it be." He said in response.

"But-they're just kids!"

"We can't go around bringing children back to Masyaf." He said coldly and emotionlessly. "Just leave it be."

"_Like hell I will_."

He gave her a look that clearly revealed to her that he was testing her. He wasn't the kind of person who would come across enslaved children and not free them even if he had the chance, no; he _would_ free them, and Nemo knew that.

"You moron." She said with a diminutive smile, turning around a the group of children.

She jumped off Fath from the back and yelled, "Hey! Camel-loving morons!"

They all turned around to her.

"Go to hell!"

She charged at them, transforming into a wolf while jumping in midair, soaring far over the children and pouncing on the soldiers. They yelled, drawing their swords, now fighting the creature.

It was so easy for her; too easy, actually. Just a few swipes of her claws, a couple snaps of her teeth, and several kicks of her paws and she killed them all. Of course…the cliff that was off to the side also came in use for throwing them over the edge.

She was satisfied with seeing them all dead. Now she just needed to get the shackles off of the kids.

The children were obviously terrified and were backing away, letting out whimpers and cries of fear. "It's alright," Nemo said softly. "I'm here to help." She looked up at Altair who was still mounted on Seema, holding onto the reigns of Fath in his left hand. "_We're_ here to help, actually." She bent her furry muzzle down to a boy who was probably no older than five years. She sniffed his face that was covered with black soot, licking his salty cheek once with her long, pink tongue. She put on a friendly look while she broke off the chains and the shackles that were imprisoning them.

Once they were finally freed, she rounded up the five children. Three of them were boys, ages most likely five, seven, and nine. One of the girls must have been only four years old, the other one being thirteen. She appeared to be the sister of the younger girl, holding the semi-toddler close to herself. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." She tried to make herself familiar with them. She felt relief once the younger ones started to extend their hands and pet her soft fur, small smiles creeping up onto their faces. They quickly got the message that she wasn't going to harm them.

"Come, we need to leave this place," she said and used her fluffy tail to urge them forward.

"Good choice." Altair said, looking over the children. "Can any of you ride a horse?"

"I can…" The thirteen-year-old girl said quietly, holding her younger sister in her arms.

"Take this horse and follow us." Altair ordered.

The girl set two of the children on the horse and mounted the beautiful creature, taking hold of the reigns. She looked at the wolf uncertainly, figuring that if even they were just being tricked, it would probably be better than being a slave or a prisoner.

Nemo took hold of the five-year-old gently in her mouth as if he were a puppy, placing him in front of Altair, who thankfully didn't protest. The other child she put on her back, making sure that she was moving slowly and gracefully enough so that he wouldn't fall off.

Altair looked over at her and smiled.

"You would have done the same thing, too, wouldn't you?" Nemo said.

"Yes, I would have." He urged Seema slightly faster, leaning forward in such a manner as to where he was confident that the small boy wouldn't fall off.

With the new passengers, it took them about another full day to reach Masyaf. It was especially difficult for Nemo because she needed to remain out of sight of everyone else, but she was obviously smart enough to know how to avoid being spotted.

Nemo trotted next to the horses, greeting the other passing assassins from Masyaf. They were questioning why they had five extra people with them, but she refused to tell them, proceeding to follow Altair into the stables were Seema and Fath were placed. They were highly grateful to be able to eat hay and drink water while being protected from the hot sun.

Altair set the boy on the ground and helped to dismount the other three from Fath. Nemo licked their faces as a way as saying 'it's alright, you're safe.' All of them except the older girl went over to the gigantic wolf, awed by the sight of the beast, stroking her deep fur in delight.

"What is your name?" Altair asked the older girl, crossing his arms.

"Rahmah." She said quietly, holding her hands up to her heart. "Thank you for saving us. May I ask what your name is?"

"Call me Altair."

"Altair…" she repeated. "…and what of your wolf?"

"Nemo."

"Nemo…"

"What?" Nemo said and rose her head to them.

"I was just telling her your name."

"Oh, well…hi! Sorry the rescue was a little messy, but please tell me…what the hell happened to all of you? You're so young."

"Crusaders raided our village and took everything, then burnt the rest." She was silent for a while. "They killed everyone but us, then captured us. I didn't speak their language and they couldn't speak ours, so we couldn't communicate with them. But now everything's gone."

Nemo growled and looked away, drawing her lips back. "So they definitely deserved to die." She loosened her expression as he thought about everything that they just lost. Their families, parents, siblings, beloved things, homes, livelihoods, their own _lives_, things that they were planning to do. "Don't worry. This is a good place here. They take good care of people."

Rahmah smiled at her, wiping a tear from her face.

"The dude who runs this place is named Al Mualim. We'll bring you all to him." She said and looked around at the kids who were absolutely fascinated with her fur. Her brow moved to a position that made her look friendly and satisfied.

"Come." Altair said and motioned for everyone to follow him.

* * *

"Master," Altair said, entering the room, looking for him.

"Come, Altair. Speak with me for a moment." Al Mualim said. He was in the back near a bookshelf, rummaging around. The assassins looked back at Nemo and ordered for her to remain where she was.

He quickly strolled over to where the old man was.

"As you wish."

"Word has reached me of your success," he said and turned to look at him. "You have my gratitude and that of the realm. Freeing these cities from their corrupt leaders…we no doubt promote the cause of peace."

After a moment, he said, "Can you _really_ be so sure?"

"The means by which men rule are reflected in their people." He turned back to the bookshelf, moving one hand over an old script that was rolled up and tied. "As you cleanse the cities of corruption, you heal the hearts and minds of those who live within."

"Our enemies would disagree."

"What do you mean?" He quickly turned his head towards him, almost as if he were jerked by something.

"Each man I've slain has confessed strange words to me. They are without regret. Even in death they seem confident of their success. Though they do not admit it directly, there _is _a tie that binds them. I'm sure of it."

"There is a difference, Altair, between what we're _told_ to be true, and what we _see_ to be true. Most men do not bother to make the distinction; it is simple that way. But as an assassin, it is your nature to notice, to question."

"Then what is it that connects these men?"

"Ah, but as an assassin, it is also your duty to dispel these thoughts and trust in your master, for there can be no true peace without order, and order requires authority."

"You speak in circles, Master. You commend me for being aware then ask me not to be; which is it?"

"The question will be answered when you longer need to ask it."

"I assume you called me here for more than just a lecture?" Altair said, more as a statement than a question.

"Very well. A rank and weapon are again restored to you. I suggest that you go to Jersusalem and assassinate the one named Talal."

"Thank you, Master." He said and turned around, seeing the five children with Nemo. Rahmah was holding her younger sister, all of them either leaning near or clinging to the wolf seemingly for protection from something.

"Forgetting about us?" Nemo said.

"Ah, yes," Al Mualim said and approached them. "I see that you have picked up a few passengers?"

"They need a place to stay…erm…live. Their village was destroyed and they were being kidnapped as slaves. Altair and I got them."

"Do not commend me for something I didn't do."

"I'm not. You were there." She looked over at him. "You still helped. So anyway…um…"

"It is alright, Nemo. We will take good care of them." He looked at Altair. "I believe that your friend here knows where to bring them?"

"Of course." Altair glared at Al Mualim for a brief moment.

As they descended the stairs, Nemo helped the younger ones down the stairs. "So what are all of your names?"

"I'm Rahmah, this is my younger sister, Alima. He's Muhammad," she motioned to the five-year-old. "He's Fadil," She motioned to the seven-year-old. "And he's Haris." She motioned to the nine-year-old.

_I'm going to forget within five seconds._ "Well, it's a great pleasure to meet you. Are they all your friends, except for Alima?"

"Yes. We were the children of our village." She was silent for a while. "I'm sorry…I've never talked to a dog before."

"I'm a wolf, please note the distinction."

"Oh…sorry."

"It's alright." She said kindly-almost cheerfully-and turned her head around to pick up one of them who was moving slowly, setting him down in front of her.

"How can you talk? I've never seen an animal before that can talk…I've never seen a wolf as big as you are, either."

"I'm a werewolf."

"May I ask what that is?"

"I'm a wolf and a human." She noticed Rahmah checking her over.

"Um…wolf _and_ human?"

"I can turn into a human. Or…maybe it's the other way around."

"So…was your father a wolf and your mother a human?"

"No, no…they were both humans."

"Then how are you both?"

"It's complicated. You probably wouldn't understand."

She heard Rahmah do a nearly inaudible gasp. "Are you part of the _ethereal_?"

"The ethe-" She started laughing. "No, I'm not part of the ethereal. Good guess, though."

"But I do not understand."

"You do not need to." Altair said, catching their attention. "Just accept the fact that she can transform into a wolf. You don't need to know the specifics."

"Oh, sorry…."

"Don't be sorry." Nemo said cheerfully again. "It's perfectly alright." She bent her head down to her and licked the side of her face, making her laugh. She wiped her face with her shirt sleeve and smiled.

After a while, Rahmah said, "So are you Altair's?"

"Hmm?"

"His wolf. Are you his wolf?"

"She doesn't belong to anyone," he said without hesitation, not looking at her. "She is a friend of mine."

"Oh."

Nemo understood what Rahmah was thinking. The dogs that she knew about were probably either strays or had owners, so it was only reasonable that Nemo belonged to someone. She also forgave Rahmah, for she had never met a werewolf before, hadn't even heard of one.

* * *

Altair, now alone, walked into his quarters, setting a bundle of newly-cleaned clothes on his desk. He took off his robes and dressed in more casual clothes consisting of brown pants, a green tunic, and a belt that went over the shirt. He had seriously needed that bath; he hated being dirty like how he was. Every time he returns to Masyaf, the first thing that he looks forward to is a hot bath and soap. So, now that he felt clean (and didn't smell bad anymore), he was in a much better mood.

He eyed Nemo's sketch book on the bed and picked it up, looking at the new pictures. There was another portrait of him-again, not too surprisingly-laying on the ground, appearing to be asleep. Another one was a strange animal he had never seen before. It had the body of a horse, matchstick-like legs, a long face, and gigantic, flattened antlers coming off from the head. Down below there was a small arrow pointing to it, underneath that being a single word scrawled messily: MOOSE. He flipped the page, raising his eyebrows at the highly detailed drawing of a church that had gargoyles spilling over the edges, their long tongues licking the air. The next page was a picture of what he surmised to be a demon judging by the teeth, eyes, and the tattered hood that was covering the face. The next was a wingless dragon flying in the air, carrying a white orb that she held against her chest. Then there was a picture of a young boy riding an elk. She had scribbled 'Princess Mononoke' next to the two.

He set the sketchbook down and walked outside, descending the stairs to the courtyard where he saw Nemo-still a wolf-lick Jafar a few times on the face, then started tickling him with her snout. Other children soon gathered around, laughing and smiling, petting her fur, wanting to play with her. And play she did, with her tail up high in the air, wagging back and forth as she rose her lower half into the air, getting herself in a playful posture. The children ran around her, tackling her, showing signs of innocence in its truest forms.

Nemo laid down on the ground and allowed the kids to do whatever it was that they wanted to do with her. She rose her head and saw Altair, deciding to howl for about three seconds.

Altair didn't even realize that he was smiling as he rose his hand to the air and waved it once.

"The young ones appear to like her." Al Mualim said as he approached Altair from behind, his hands behind his back.

"She is rather good with them."

They spent a few moments in silence, watching the frolicking group. Despite how innocent Nemo appeared at the moment, she was not. She's killed more men than Altair has ever accomplished, and he knew that, too. She's been a lot better with taking lives, however; no more mental breakdowns, no outwardly-expressed feelings about it, no shows of unnecessary severe regret. She's definitely coped.

"Tell me, Altair. How has she been?"

"She's been well. Comfortable, I suppose."

Honestly, Altair wasn't quite sure if that were true or not. Maybe it was only partially true.

"Then you have done a good job." Al Mualim was silent for a moment, his hands still clasped behind his back.

"Master, if I may ask a question…?"

"Of course."

"Why is it that you assigned me to look after Nemo?"

"She is very different. Interesting, in fact. A creature that I have never seen before, and I thought that since she is so different, she should be protected. She should be preserved. Though I know that she is very well capable of protecting herself, I wasn't quite sure." He was quiet for a moment. "I must tell you something, Altair."

"Please speak it, then."

"I relieve you from your duty to look after Nemo."

Altair turned his gaze towards him. He wasn't expecting that.

"You and her get along well, but you needn't be forced to have her come with you."

Altair was quiet. He had forgotten that he had been assigned to watch over her. Whether he was assigned such a thing or not, he was definitely still going to have Nemo come with him; it was good for both her _and_ him, but why was Al Mualim relieving him from it now? Was he just realizing how capable Nemo is? Was he just realizing that she doesn't need any baby-sitting? Well, to put it figuratively, instead of him taking Nemo for a walk, she took _him_ for a walk, so to say. Either way, it was strange that he was doing such a thing. Maybe he just didn't want Altair to forget that he had been assigned it in the first place.

"Master, if it is alright…will you still permit me to still bring Nemo with me to the places I travel to?"

"As long as it is her wish, it is entirely fine with me." He smiled to his ex-apprentice. "Did you think that I was forbidding you from doing such a thing?"

"I wasn't quite sure." As the strange repetitive silence ensued again, he began to feel slightly uncomfortable but remained standing where he was, watching the playful group down below. Al Mualim, deciding that he had been there long enough, silently withdrew from his presence and disappeared.

Altair strolled down the steps and made his way over to Nemo, who was still upside down with her underside exposed to the sky, allowing the children to jump all over her.

"Hey Powder Pants," Nemo said and looked at him as he bent down to them.

"You have a lot of tolerance."

"C'mon, they're just kids. They need to play." She flipped herself over, causing the much younger ones to giggle with glee. _Altair would have kicked them if they ever did this to him. Okay, maybe not literally kick, but he wouldn't be very happy about it. _"Besides, wouldn't you have wanted something like me if you were five?"

"Perhaps." He stroked her underneath the jaw, drumming his fingers a couple times. "I shouldn't be too surprised, however."

"Eh, you can almost never tell what's what with me. But I'll tell you, this is like floatin' on cloud nine right now." She turned her head around and tickled a young boy with her snout.

* * *

Altair looked in expressionless surprise at the amount food Nemo was finally eating. After four days, the chicken was beginning to wear off, but he was rather glad for that; as thin as Nemo was, she had been getting thinner, and he knew very well that that wasn't a good thing. He was thankful that her hunger had finally caught up to her and she was eating mountains of rice. He was also somewhat surprised that she ate more rice than she did meat…then again…she does prefer raw meat.

"Hey, Alty," Nemo said after gulping down the liquid in her cup. "How old are you? Twenty-one?"

"Twenty," he responded. "Why?"

"Really? Wow, we're only six years apart." In reality, Nemo had forgotten if they were five, six, seven, or eight years apart. She knew that it was somewhere in that range and she knew that Altair was really young, and, if he were born in the time that she's from, girl's would've been gawking over him. Not only that, but he would (most likely) be in college. It was odd to think of that and it was even more awkward to think of the differences between his time and her time. If they were in the year of 2010, Nemo would have been charged with the murder of over eighty people (which would deem her as a mass murderer and no doubt give her the death sentence (as if that would work on her)) plus assault, manslaughter, theft, and what the court would deem as 'unnecessary violence and aggression.' Once that dawned on her, she began to think about the fact that no prison from her time would be able to contain her. She could either break the bars, bend the bars for an opening, or literally squeeze herself through (which wasn't very difficult) granted that they didn't shackled her in such a way that it would suffocate her. Sure, that would have been fun in some sadistic and outlandish way, but she wouldn't want that to happen in real life. Ever.

Altair glanced at a passing instructor who was making his way to Al Mualim. The man bent over to his master and whispered something to him, then left. Altair kept his gaze following the man until he was out of sight.

"What the hell was that about?" Nemo said.

Altair looked over to her, his expression (if any) clearly saying 'what' in his own tacit way.

"You just gave that guy a kill-stare."

"I was just curious." He didn't hesitate the response.

"Whatever." She reach over and spooned more rice into her plate. "How long have you been an assassin?"

"About four years." He took a gulp from his cup. "Why?"

"I was just wondering." _Wow…since he was sixteen. Two years older than I am._

She was surprised and jumped out of her seat when she felt water splash onto her back followed by a loud crash. Apparently it also got Altair wet since he had one of those 'oh my god' expressions and went stiff and ridged right away. The man to the left of him also got wet, for he looked just as startled.

It turns out that a poor lady who was a server had lost balance of the jar and it crashed to the floor, resulting in the three of them getting wet. She looked completely embarrassed and was blurring out an entire list of apologies to everyone. Nemo felt terrible for her; not only was everyone looking in her direction, but men started throwing insults and started cussing at her. "You damn bitch, learn how to hold a jar correctly!"

Nemo glared at the man, looking murderous. "Shut up, you moronic camel-loving jerk!" She bent down to the lady who was collecting the pieces of broken clay. "Are you okay?" She asked her in a non-threatening, sweet voice.

"I-i-it's okay, I can clean this up. I am terribly sorry, please-"

"It's not a problem. Altair, help clean or you'll find yourself waking up in a pen full of goats."

"No exaggeration needed," he replied and stood up, using a stray cloth on the table to wipe up the water.

Some of the men who were previously throwing insults stood up and walked over to her. The things that they said would have made Nemo chomp their heads off faster than a hummingbird's heartbeat. While they continued trash-talking the poor woman, the werewolf stood up and said, "Who the HELL do you think you are?" She put her hands on her hips and approached them threateningly, causing them to take a few steps back. "That is no way to talk to somebody!"

"In case if you haven't noticed already, that bitch and waste of a woman is my pathetic wife, and if you-" He stopped mid-sentence when saw that her fingertips had turned into knife-like claws and her fangs lengthened out of her mouth.

"That's no way to treat your wife, you-"

"Ha! Let's see _you_ try to teach a woman respect! You are merely a girl!"

As Nemo started walking forward again, Altair grabbed her collar and pulled her back.

"She is not a 'girl,'" Altair said. "She is a young woman. Treat your wife _and_ my wolf with respect."

"_Your_ wolf? _Ha_! And what will you do about it?"

"Let go of her collar."

The man stopped smiling and set his jaw tight, silent for a moment. "Fine then. Let's see a war of words with your so-called 'young woman.' She won't even throw a curse."

"Won't even…HEY!"

"Did you _have_ to say that?" Altair said.

If the next thing that she said were to be aired on television, it would be heard as: "HEY YOU SCRAWNY-EYED (beep)! What the (beep) is wrong with you? Do you HONESTLY think that you can (beep)ing tell ME that kind of thing and then (beep)ing tell your wife who is NOT a (beep) that she is pathetic? Well (beep) you (beep) (beep) and (beep) and (beep) YOU LIKE TO (beeeep) (beep) and (beep) and (beep) and (beep) and-" (Some rather…explicit content.) "-(beep) (beep) and (beep) YOU (beep) MOTHA (beep) (beep) (beep) and (beep) OF A (beep) you sunuva (beep) (beep) (BEEP)!"

She slapped her hand over her mouth.

Altair's eyebrows were raised quite a bit. "…Oh my god, Nemo…." He said, not letting go of her collar.

Everyone looked surprised and went completely silent.

"Little werewolf, watch your language." A bird (who was perched near an open window) said. Even the animals were quiet. How convenient.

"Whoops. That kind of slipped out." She uncovered her mouth.

The men looked highly offended and was obviously embarrassed. They never had a woman speak to them like that before.

* * *

"Were did you learn vocabulary like that?" Altair asked as they walked back to their room.

"South Park."

Altair opened the door and Nemo made an immediate beeline for her sketchbook. She picked it up, examining it. She flipped through the pages. While she may never be able to become the artist she dreamed of becoming, she could at least do something that she loved until she ran out of paper. Then she'll have to use parchment.

Altair took off the belt surrounding the tunic and set it aside on his desk, then sat down and opened up his journal. He continued writing in it for several more minutes, spending the time in silence, the only noise being the pencils gliding over writing material and the chirps of birds that were down below outside.

Someone knocked at the door, interrupting the silence.

"Got it," Nemo said and stood up to open the door.

At first she didn't see anybody until a voice said, "I'm down here."

She looked down, realizing that she had looked completely over Jafar's head. She started laughing and apologized, ruffling the hair on his head. She noticed that he was holding something in his hand.

"I came to give you something."

"Really?" She knelt down to him. It was odd; when she stood, she had to look down at him, but when she knelt, she had to look up at him.

He extended a hand to her and opened it, palm facing the celing. In the center was what appeared to be a keychain, but Nemo immediately recognized it; it was a dog tag. It was a little bigger than a quarter and was a small wolf wrapped around in feathered wings with a miniature cross on the neck.

"We made it for you while you were gone. I hope you like it."

Nemo took it and said, "Jafar, this is…beautiful. How did you do this?"

"I had help from a few of the kitchen women. We melted a piece of a shattered sword and made this. Do you like it?"

"I love it!" She immediately put it on her collar, smiling as it fit her well.

"Zahrah also wanted me to give this to Altair." He held up a neatly-folded tunic.

Nemo stepped aside and motioned to him, who was still sitting at his desk as if he didn't hear the boy say anything. Jafar walked up to him and set the bundle beside the desk.

"Aren't you going to thank him?" Nemo said and put her hands on her hips.

He looked at Jafar for a moment and mumbled a 'thanks.'

"C'mon, be _real_, Alty."

"Thank you, Jafar." He said to the boy, who gladly welcomed him back. Altair just glared at Nemo.

Before the boy left, Jafar said to Nemo, "Oh, yes. Al Mualim also said that he wishes to speak to you."

* * *

**TERRIBLE CHAPTER. I SHOULD BURN THIS CHAPTER UNTIL IT EXISTS TO MORE! ARG!**

**Ugh, I don't wanna go over this fifteen times! I wanna work on my book, I'm finally past my writer's block. No promises on when the book will be done, it's my first. Read my profile if you want information, I don't want to write it down -_- I feel like I'm sulking over this chapter 0_0**

**Alright, out of all bad chapters I've ever written, THIS…is the worst. For a chapter as bad as this it should be five pages long, not fifteen -_- please forgive me and the crappiness of the chapter. I think that I was out of ideas and I was recently still trying to get back on-track from our time out of the country. Gosh, this is embarrassing…I'm going to go crawl into a corner and turn off the lights… v.v**

**The next chapter is definitely going to have more 'Altair' in it because to me (personally) it seems like it's recently been Nemo Nemo Nemo. We need to show Altair a little love :)**

**And trust me, the kids will have an important part in a later chapter. I just pointed out foreshadowing! Woot! AND I left a cliffhanger! Haha, I'm evil like that :) And just gotta love foreshadowing, they're the cliffhanger's minions }:D**


	13. Travel to Jerusalem

**I SHALT WRITETH A DISCLAIMER! I don't own Asassins Creed, Nanami, Oninagi, or…anything else that's copyrighted by peoples. I have yet to reach that point in my laugh as to when I will be copyrighted works of stuffs and thingus.**

**WOOT!**

* * *

Altair wasn't dreaming so peacefully. First he dreamt about committing infanticide which ultimately resulted in himself sitting bolt upright which woke up a very tired werewolf who was too dazed to even say anything. Well…actually she did say something, but it was 'hash browns' so that probably doesn't count much. Then he dreamt that he had fallen into a lake after being thrown off a cliff and he drowned…possibly. Nemo's hand had grabbed him but he woke up before the dream finished. Then he dreamt that Nanami from _Oninagi_ was real and he got caught in the midst of one of her 'episodes.'

"WAKE UP!" Nemo yelled and pushed Altair so hard that he nearly fell out of the bed.

Altair, breathing heavily from the nightmare, looked around for a moment and noted that it was still dark in the room. He could hear his heart beating in his ears and could feel his chest throbbing from the recent fear that was-thankfully-quickly disappearing from his body.

"Dude, what the hell?" Nemo said. "Are you alright? That's the fourth time already."

"Sorry." He sighed relief from being woken up and brought a hand up to his head.

"Maybe I should start saying 'sweet dreams' and you won't have anymore nightmares tonight. So sweet dreams, please."

"Sorry." He turned around onto his side, away from Nemo. That last dream had probably broken him out of the chain that had been occurring. He hated whenever he has a dream and he wakes up from it, but when he closes his eyes he's back in the dream and has to break himself out of it again. And he especially hates it when he stops breathing but he conscious enough to realize it. At that point it's just scary and plainly annoying.

When dawn finally rose, Altair didn't have to be waken up. Instead, he just simply woke up…plain as can be. Nemo was still asleep beside him, clutching his arm as if she were clutching a favorite stuff animal.

Not wanting to get a late start on the trip to Jerusalem, he shook Nemo awake. Of course, her reaction was an incoherent and incomprehensible (not to mention practically inaudible) mumble that nearly caused Altair to laugh. So instead, he stood up and the first thing he noticed was the lycanthrope's failure to release his arm. He practically dragged her off of the bed before she realized it and woke up. It's not the most comforting sight to awake seeing that you're practically off of a bed, and in the sudden panic, she let go of his arm and nearly face-planted the ground, but she was alright. Embarrassed, but alright.

Altair shuffled his tunic off and put on a day shirt instead, then proceeded to put on his robes and the rest of his attire. He checked his blades, scraping off a bit of dried blood-now brown-with his fingernail.

He didn't eat too much; the thought of the strange and random nightmares made him somewhat queasy. Once both of them were ready to go, they grabbed Seema and Fath and set out for Jerusalem.

* * *

Upon approaching Jerusalem, the sky was drizzling bits of rain on their heads, a few rolls of thunder screaming off in the distance, nothing but mere rumbles to their ears. It was strange for it to be raining in Jerusalem; usually a cloud or two here-and-there, but a full-fledged storm? Uncommon, but not unheard of.

They dismounted the horses. Nemo quickly clawed her way up the wall and Altair climbed up a wooden scaffolding that would lead to wooden beams that he could use to get past the soldiers guarding in the entrance. He hauled himself up to one beam and jumped to the next, landing gracefully on his feet. Thankfully no one noticed him and he was allowed to bound from beam-to-beam until he was a safe distance away. Once he knew he was clear, he jumped down from above, paying no attention to the gasps of surprise that the people below expressed. It's not like it's every day does a man fall from above and land right in front of someone.

Nemo joined up with him as he began to hastily walk to the Assassins Bureau with a low profile on.

Nemo suppressed herself from shivering. It must have been only fifty degrees on the Fahrenheit scale and the rain was freezing. Not only that, but the wind was biting at everyone's skin, which didn't help one bit.

Both of them climbed the ladder to the Assassins Bureau and leapt down effortlessly.

Altair walked in and said, "Safety and peace, Malik." It was somewhat surprising that he spoke in a soft tone.

Nemo stopped herself from smiling. The next thing that Malik was going to say was perhaps one of her favorite lines in the game, and as he spoke, she recited the words in her head: "Your presence here deprives me of both. What do you want?"

"Al Mualim has ask-"

"Ask that you perform some lenient task in an effort to redeem yourself. So be out with it."

"Tell me what you can about the one they call Talal."

"It is your duty to locate and assassinate the man, Altair…not mine."

"You'd do well to assist me. His death benefits the entire land."

"Do you deny that his death benefits you as well?"

"Such things do not concern me."

"Your actions _very_ much concern me!" Malik was obviously angry, rising his voice octave-by-octave. But he had self-restraint.

"Then don't help me. I'll find him myself."

A few moments passed and Malik sighed, saying, "Wait, wait. It won't do having you stumble around the city like a blind man. Better you know where to begin your search."

"I'm listening."

"I can think of three places; south of here in the markets that line the border between the Muslim and Jewish districts, to the north near the mosque of this district, and east in front of Saint Anne's Church."

"Is that everything?"

"It's enough to get you started…and more than you deserve." He waved him off and turned his back to him. He saw Nemo and it was then that he realized she was even there. "Will you be going with him?"

"I guess so. Why?"

"I mean no disrespect, Nemo, but I see that Altair now has an assistant?"

"No." Altair said and brushed past Nemo, who quickly followed.

* * *

"Oh la-dee-dah, what a beautiful day this is." Nemo said sarcastically and padded around the ground. "I think I have icicles on my tail." After a moment, she said, "I can't really pick up a scent. It's too wet."

"Too wet?"

"Remember when I said that water erases a scent trail?"

"Yes."

"It's erasing all of them right now." She put her muzzle back to the ground.

"Is there anything that you can do?"

"Pft, I can follow you, go back to the bureau, or I can trot around the city and look for information. I'm guessing that you prefer the third suggestion?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I'll see you later, pal. Don't get caught and don't get killed because if you do, then I'm going to raise you back from the back and kill you again."

Altair smirked at the comment and watched her trot by him off into the crowds of people. The light drizzle soon turned into a rain.

With his clothes now soaking (which made him utterly uncomfortable and cold), he continued his search.

Nemo wasn't so lucky at first. First a random stray dog on the street attacked her and she got into a dog fight, then she got too close to a bird's nest and the parents of the chicks swooped down after her and pecked out some of her fur and flesh (ouch), then a bucket of water was thrown on her head (again) from an overhead window, THEN some old guy started chasing her away with a stick and started beating her with it. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, an ever-so-kind soldier started torturing her with a chicken and when she got close enough water was splashed on her.

So, ever-so-being-humbled Nemo, wet and smelling and feeling unappreciated by every mean, sat down near a tree and decided to watch the passing people. To hell with this, maybe Altair will find enough information to get started and then-if he thinks of it-howl her back to the Assassins Bureau.

While sitting there with her ears flat against her head, she heard two men speaking with each other near a corner of a building. She heard the name 'Talal' and immediately perked her ears in their direction, listening intently.

"…if the guards won't take action it falls to us to do something."

"What you propose is madness."

"But necessary. How many more will we allow to go missing before the people take a stand?"

"That does not affect us!"

"Not yet, but if we continue to do nothing, it will."

"What do you propose?"

"I've watched the man, learned everything there is to know about his operation. It's all here on the map I've made. He inspects his stock every day at the same time. This is when I'll strike."

"So you have a piece of paper. It won't save you when you're discovered, won't shield you from their swords and arrows."

"If all goes well it won't come to that. Anyway, it's a risk I'll have to take. Wish me luck, my friend."

"Indeed. You'll need it." The two hugged each other in a friendly matter before walking away in opposite directions.

Nemo suddenly thought of an Assassins Creed fanart that made fun of such a thing, portraying the carrier with bright, cartoony eyes saying "It's SAFE in your back pocket! Nobody will get it there!" She never actually forgot about the image since it possesses a sense of humor that she likes. And it made sense, too: why not just turn the ancient fanny-pack-like thing around in the front? If anyone tries to grab it that person will definitely notice because unless the pickpocket's intention is to grope the target, then no one's going to grab it. But no; instead, they just had to leave it facing the back which left it wide open and exposed for a pickpocket's convenience. Perfect for Nemo, bad for the carrier and the person corresponding the letter.

As her target began walking off, she followed him close behind. He unexpectedly took a turn into an abandoned alleyway which honestly couldn't have made Nemo feel anymore happier than she was at that one blissful moment.

He wouldn't even know what was coming.

She ran up behind him and pounced on his back, knocking him to the ground. She slammed his skull into a rock hard enough to knock him out but soft enough so that it wouldn't kill him. So, with her now-limp target, she grabbed the letter and moved a rock big enough to make someone trip and placed it near his feet so that when he woke up, he would think that he just simply stumbled over the rock and was knocked out.

Unusual but effective.

Altair had to spend a great deal of time finding a public speaker who appeared to know something about Talal. When he finally did, he was relieved and waited patiently amongst the crowds of people.

"These are troubled times in which we live. Food is scarce, money tight, but it need not be this way. All what is asked is an honest day's work; a small sacrifice for great rewards. Who knows what the future holds, what tragedies tomorrow may bring. Defend against an uncertain future. Protect the ones you love. You will be rewarded. Talal provides." Yadda yadda yadda, this guy likes to hear himself talk. Thankfully he stepped off of the raised platform after realizing that not too many people were listening to him. He started walking and Altair followed like a bee attracted to a flower.

Once they were in a dark and empty alleyway, Altair threw the first punch and surprised the man. Once his target registered what had happened, he roared, "How _dare_ you!" He threw a punch towards Altair's head but the assassin blocked it easily with his right arm and delivered a blow to the stomach, then uppercut the man and threw him against the wall of the building. He kicked him one more time in the stomach and brought the man to his knees. He pinned him in a corner, giving him no room to escape.

"I have nothing to say to you." The man said with a hand up to his aching lower thorax, wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Speak to me or speak to God. It's your choice." Altair said in response.

"You won't stop the work he does! _Cannot_ stop it."

"Stop what? What work?"

"He prepares them for _the journey_."

"Journey where?"

"They are held in his warehouse, and when the time comes, they're sent to Acre."

"Where is this warehouse? And why Acre?"

"Talal tells me what he needs to know, nothing more." The man said slowly. "It is safer that way."

"For him perhaps, but not, I fear, for you." Altair plunged his hidden blade forward and stabbed the man on the abdomen. He looked shocked, stunned, but Altair knew that he didn't feel any pain. That was the intention. The only reason why he always killed them was to ensure his chances of survival was at its highest. If they lived, his target might be informed, and he would loose all his chances to strike.

He extended the blade and took a step back. The man staggered for a moment before falling to his knees, going limp, and landing on the ground with a soft thud.

Altair left the scene and casually but briskly walked out of the alleyway.

As he walked around, he saw Nemo talking with an informant. The man had knelt down to her and stroked her head a few times before she trotted off. Had he just asked her to kill men for him?

Altair walked up to the assassin and got his attention.

"Altair. What a surprise." He said in a gruff tone. It was Majed, another man who absolutely hates him.

"What did you ask her to do?"

"Is it really any of your business?" He started walking past Altair.

"Yes." He started to follow.

"She is running an errand for me. There was a box that I was meant to collect but I apparently missed it. I am currently pressed for time." He turned to the corner of a house and opened the door. Altair stopped where he was. Surprisingly, the informant said, "I do hate you, Altair. I do, but I trust you. I am truly in a rush, and I need assistance with getting my family out of Jerusalem and to Masyaf. Will you be kind enough to escort my family to the gates of the city?"

Escort another man's family? That was definitely something he had not been asked to do before, never mind by a man who loathed him. But Altair didn't hate him.

"I shall."

"Mariyah! Jasmine!" He called.

A beautiful woman with a blue dress and white veil wrapped around her head came down the stairs. Behind her was a young girl around age ten wearing a brown, flowing dress with long sleeves.

"Father, will you be in Masyaf soon?"

"I will, Jasmine." He bent down to her and kissed her on the head. "I promise that, butterfly."

"I surmise that we will be following you?" The mother said, looking at Altair.

"You can trust him, though I despise him. I will ready our belongings."

A few farewells, and Altair was bringing them to the gates of Jerusalem.

Nemo trotted along the ground, trying her best to ignore the strange looks other people were giving her. Yes, she was a canine carrying a box into a house.

"Mr. Assassin guy? Are you here?" She asked and kicked the door closed with her back paw. It was dark and dusty inside with random objects strewn about the ground.

"I am up here, wolf." A voice called from above.

Nemo trotted up the stairs and found the man beside a bed, packing one large box. "I got your flags."

"Thank you very much, Nemo."

"Where'd the other two go?"

"Your friend, Altair, is escorting them outside of Jerusalem."

"Really? Things are that urgent?"

"It's not safe here right now. Anyway, here is the information I know; Talal goes to the same place every day at the same time on the border of the rich and middle district of Jerusalem, almost right in the center. There is an abandoned-looking warehouse with iron gates. It is very difficult to miss."

"Anything else?"

"Be careful. He is an archer and no doubt has other men working as bodyguards." He started fastening the box together.

"I really need minions…." Nemo said quietly and sighed. "Thank you for the information. We'll use it well." She turned around and started to walk away.

"Nemo, before you go…could you possibly follow Altair to make sure that nothing bad happens to my family?"

"Sure thing, of course." She bounded down the creaky stairs and out of the house.

After successfully escorting the informant's family without arousing any suspicion, Altair and Nemo headed back to the Assassins Bureau.

As Altair walked in, he simply said, "Malik."

"Come to waste more of my time?"

"I've found Talal. I'm ready to begin my mission."

In the back out of sight, Nemo was putting her clothes back on.

After a moment of silence, Malik said, "That is for me to decide." He placed a book on the counter.

Altair was quiet for a few seconds before it became highly evident that he had to disclose the fact that he really did find out what needed to know. Therefore, Malik wasn't going to speak until he did. "Very well. Here's what I know; he traffics in human lives, kidnapping Jerusalem citizens and selling them into slavery. His base is a warehouse north of here. As we speak he prepares a caravan for travel. I'll strike while he's inspecting his stock. If I can avoid his men, Talal himself should prove little challenge."

"Little challenge? Listen to you! Such arrogance."

"Are we finished? Are you satisfied with what I've learned?"

"No. But it will have to do." He set a feather on the counter and Altair wordlessly took it. "Rest, prepare, cry in the corner; do whatever it is you do before a mission. Only make sure you do it quietly."

Altair walked into the adjacent room and glanced at Nemo for a brief moment, who was currently pulling her shirt down a little ways. "It almost seems like sibling rivalry." Nemo said without looking at him. "What went down between you two?"

"You do not need to know." Altair stated back rather emotionlessly.

"True, true." She straightened her back and stretched her arms. _I was hoping that I could make him tell me…though I already know what happened. _"Mine as well have good luck tomorrow morning. Am I coming along?"

"Wouldn't do any good in protesting now, would it?" He looked up at her as he sat down and smiled briefly.

"Not unless I make four metaphorical impenetrable walls and box you inside."

"Depends on how high they are."

"High enough so that you couldn't climb over them, I'll say."

Altair looked at her for a moment as she sat down next to him. "You're wet."

"Oh, REALLY? You're JUST noticing that now, eh?"

He tried not to laugh.

"That was just the definition of oblivious, Altair."

* * *

**I actually saw 'oblivious' in a dictionary and it showed a man bent over in one of those old-fashioned cameras and a rhinoceros was charging at him from behind and everyone was running amok and he was just completely oblvious XD**

**Now I'm off to work on the next chapter.**


	14. A Change of Plans

**I just came back from a wicked cool field trip (we spent most of the time on a boat) and I held a flounder-like, an almost fully-grown flounder (so the eyes were actually on one side and stopped migrating)-and I smothered myself in sunscreen and I guess that I missed a spot and I still got burnt :O I thought my shirt would cover most of my shoulders -_-**

**Oh, and it's also a little ironic how the bus was playing 'Finding Nemo' and I was also listening to a song called 'Nemo' by Nightwish XD I just thought that was a little weird O.o**

**Onward with the story! Feel its power? Tingly, is it not?**

* * *

Altair contemplated for a while. Should he bring Nemo along to help with the assassination, should she be left out waiting so that she could get him away quicker, or should he leave her behind at the Assassins Bureau? Malik is a good man; he would watch over Nemo. He was a reasonable thinker and even though Malik hated him with a deep and burning fiery passion, Altair did not.

"Hey, powder pants," said Nemo as she walked in with a piece of bread. "Never told me that Malik makes bread. It's actually exceptionally good. Bakeries back at Clyde Park need this kind of stuff."

Altair remembered her yelling 'Clyde Park' at the men when she was still in captivation. "Is that name of your village?"

"We call them towns, but yes, Clyde Park, Montana. Population three-hundred and fifty-three or…something like that. It probably has a similar population to Masyaf." She took another bite of the bread.

"Nemo, I will show you where it is that we must go." Altair said and stood up. "I want you to wait exactly where I tell you to. If you see anyone come out of the warehouse other than me, chase him down. We only have one target and he's an archer, so he should be rather easy to distinguish among the others granted he's carrying a bow."

"I'm pretty sure that I can do that. Just don't get killed or I'll be pissed."

"I don't plan on getting killed."

A few moments-and several rolls of bread-later, they were out of the bureau and were making their way towards the warehouse.

Altair hoisted himself up onto the edge of a building and ordered the lycanthrope to stay where she was. Of course she was going to stay she was, and he knew that, but just to make sure he used command words with her. 'Stay,' 'chase,' 'don't', all of them words that she naturally wanted to follow from someone she likes.

So, perched up on a building, Nemo waited quietly and made sure she was out of sight. When Altair left, she realized that it was very quiet but she didn't feel like humming to herself. She was nervous and anxious, but if Talal came out of that warehouse alive, she'll chase him down like how she chases a deer. In fact, he'll _become_ a deer and she's purposely forget that he's a human; it helps her chase things better, reminded her of her dreams running through Finland chasing elk or other feral ungulates.

Altair dropped down to the warehouse and hesitated in front of an open door. Pft…door? There wasn't even one.

He stepped inside and heard a huge iron door behind him fall, locking and trapping him inside. Inside of the warehouse was a cage with a man who was nothing but skin and bone, sitting on the ground, fidgeting and clinging onto himself. He was obviously injured psychologically. Pools of red blood were scattered throughout the floor, some of the red liquid smeared on the damp stone walls. It was dark inside with a few torches lighting the room. The floor was covered in old, creaky wood that desperately needed replacement and looked as if they could break at any moment under the assassin's weight.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a shadowy figure up top that quickly but silently slipped away and out of sight. He knew that he was being watched by many eyes.

"What now, slaver?" Altair said and walked forward, eyeing the man in the cage. He couldn't help but notice that there was an arm that extended itself through the iron bars of a hatch that was attached to the ground. Inside was a skinny man who said, "Help me! Save me!" Off on another wall was a bloodied man shackled to it. The man didn't even look at Altair. One other thing that was highly noticeable was the smell; the stench was terrible and beyond putrid, consisting of blood, rats, decay, and other things that were far too pungent to even identify.

"Do not call me that!" A man said rather quickly. "I only wish to help them…as I myself was helped."

"You do no kindness imprisoning them like this."

"Imprisoning them? I keep them safe, preparing them for the journey that lies ahead."

"What journey? It is a life of servitude."

The man started laughing quietly. "You know nothing." He said slowly. "It was folly to even bring you here, to think that you might _see_ and understand."

"I understand well enough. Show yourself!" Altair was outraged at the way how he had imprisoned these men, keeping them in cages, bloodying them, shackling them, not even cleaning up the blood on the ground and the walls. It went against not only the Assassins Creed, but the Ten Commandments, all the 'Laws,' all of morality, and everything with ethics. It was beyond profoundly appalling. It was even atrociously disgusting.

An iron gate to an adjacent room opened and Altair stepped inside, listening to the distant and weak shouts and shrieks of men trapped behind bars that they so did not belong with.

"Ahh, so you want to see the man who called you here?" Talal asked, closing the gate behind him. It must have been a complicated mechanism from above, for Altair did not see any other human being except for himself. Even that was exceptionally difficult considering the low levels of light. Why not open up a window or two?

"You did not call me here!" Altair raised his voice and stopped walking once he was in the center of the room. He used his eyes to look around as he said, "I came on my own."

Talal laughed again. This time, it was an eerie and bone-chilling _Hhha-ah-ah…_. He spoke again but it was echoing so much that Altair could only hear 'did you?' and something that sounded like 'clear the path.' Then he heard '…all this I did _for_ you.'

A wooden hatch from over head was moved and a patch of light cascaded down onto the ground. "Step into the light, then." Talal said. "I will grant you one final hearing."

Altair walked into that small patch of light and waited.

Several men jumped down from the balconies overhead, all having swords in their hands.

"Now I stand before you." Talal said and appeared overhead, giving Altair a full view of himself. He was probably in his late thirties with grayish-black hair that was sleeked back. He was wearing white pants and a multi-colored shirt, and of course, he had a bow in one hand and arrow on his back. "What is it you desire?"

"Come down here! Let us settle this with honor!" He drew his sword, glaring up at Talal.

"Why must it always come to violence? It seems I cannot help you, for you do not wish to help yourself, and I cannot allow my work to be threatened. You leave me no choice." He paused for a moment and started to turn around. "You must die."

_Damn._ Altair thought. He was severely outnumbered; six to one. He could make it through this despite the odds, he thought.

The first man who went for him made his moves completely open and showed exactly where he was going to hit. Altair easily and swiftly dodged it and broke the man's leg with his sword. Once he fell to the ground, he stabbed him in the stomach before wheeling around and slicing another man's throat. The man brought his hands up to his neck as he fell forward, landing on the ground with a hard thud.

Altair now had two men coming at him at once. Their blows were quick and he was forced to block them with his sword, but in doing so, he was also forced to back up. Before he knew it he felt himself pressed against a wall. As his enemy's swords came closer and closer, he eyed a wooden box and caught his boot on it. He kicked it forward up into the air at them. One of their swords got caught in the wood and Altair was able to sprint past him and slice his throat. The other man dodged Altair's attack and eventually countered it, punching Altair so hard in the stomach that he was sent back a little ways and fell to the ground. Just as he snapped back into reality he saw a flash and swiftly rolled to the left to avoid being stabbed.

His enemy never gave him enough time to stand up, but he always had enough time to roll out of the way.

Upon nearing a piece of wood that was lying on the floor, Altair grabbed it and flung it up as a shield just in the nick of time before the sword made contact with his chest. With the temporary shield he was allowed to stand up, but there was a bigger problem; his sword had been kicked out of range.

The final man joined in with the currently attacking one. Altair jumped to avoid being swiped by the feet, then ducked to avoid being decapitated. Upon landing, he ran up a wall and jumped onto a stack of unstable boxes. He leapt off in the opposite direction of the men, sending the heavy and splintered boxes avalanching down on his two enemies. With them buried, he grabbed his sword and ran over to one who was clawing his way out. He stabbed the man in the stomach and quickly found the other.

The last man lost his head.

Altair sheathed his sword and ran up a ladder, two steps at a time. Talal saw that the assassin was still alive and started running away, signaling for more men to come. Altair grabbed one of his throwing knives and flicked his wrist, sending it sailing through the air. It eventually hit a man in the stomach and he fell like a rock off of the balcony. He threw another knife but missed, giving his enemies more time to get to him. Once they came too close, he drew out his silver short blade and started dodging attacks.

He countered one attack and broke the man's arm, then came around behind and stabbed him in the back. The next blow that he countered he brought the man to his knees and thrust the knife down into his skull, listening to a loud 'crack' as the cranium broke. He avoiding a spray of blood as he went behind the next man and stabbed him in the kidneys, then a third time to sever the vertebrae. He turned around and saw that there was no one else left. Talal obviously noticed as well and looked horrified.

In his horror he fled.

Nemo was watching the warehouse intently. She knew how it was going to be played out. She has played the game several times and she knew that Talal was going to come out of there eventually.

She immediately noticed when Talal came sprinting out of the building. He jumped off of where he was and landed on an adjacent rooftop.

Nemo kicked off from where she was and started chasing Talal. The man quickly saw her and started running faster.

Nemo, though still human, transformed her legs into dog legs and went on all fours as she bounded across from a pinnacle on a rooftop to a flattened area on a neighbor's house. She brought her arms out in front of herself again and grasped a wooden beam, using it to propel herself forward even quicker. She may have been faster than any other human, but Talal took difficult routes and she was often thrown off-course.

"Stay away from me!" Talal yelled as she neared him.

Nemo's eyes widened when she saw that he threw something at her. She couldn't even tell what it was…a piece of wood, a box or something of the like…but whatever it was it hit her and broke into a million pieces and dazed her for a moment. The force of the blow knocked her front half backwards and did half of a mini-back flip (she was in midair at the moment). She landed on the ground and felt the wind rush out of her. The werewolf quickly got to her feet and did a total Alex Mercer; she ran up a wall, flipped over the building, broke a flagpole (it was in the way), landed on the street that Talal was now running on, and then started sprinting forward with her back nearly horizontal to the ground to help accelerate herself.

She never lost sight of him and he apparently never did either, because this time he leapt through a merchant's stand and threw a jar straight at her head. When it hit her, she quickly felt that it was filled with water. She felt her jaw get knocked out of place and she automatically said "Good morning!" with the sudden rush of pain and surprise blast of cold liquid.

She snapped her jaw back into place and picked up her pace. Talal had gone into the crowds, giving her a difficult time to keep on his tail. When she lost sight of him, she jumped up to a rooftop and quickly spotted him. Talal grabbed an arrow and was carrying his bow, plowing his way through the crowds. When he saw Nemo coming for him, he shot the arrow. She dodged it by swerving off to the sides, but the next one he shot hit her straight in the shoulder. She was automatically infuriated and decided to leap down from the building, ripping out the arrow. As she fell, her momentum broke several wooden beams that were running across the building.

Talal continued created obstacles and continued throwing objects at her as an attempt to slow her down. She suddenly thought of another line from a video game that absolutely fitted her situation. She roared, "TALAL! YOU SUICIDAL MORON!"

"Get this demon away from me!" Talal said, but just as she hit the ground, she grabbed onto the back of his shirt and jumped as high as she could go. Carrying him with her one arm, she sprinted across rooftops until she found a secluded and dark place. Once she was there, she slammed Talal on the ground and kneeled on top of him, pinning him to the floor, threatening him with her knife-claws, trapping him and giving him no chance of escape.

Nemo suddenly calmed herself when she saw the fear in his eyes. She was in charge and he knew it. She got off of him and saw that she had broken his leg and his arm and he was bleeding profusely. Upon seeing his mortality and the fact that he was going to die, she started speaking softly to him. There was no reason to be harsh now.

"You can't escape this one, I'm afraid. Tell me what you know."

"My part is played." He said with a pained expression on his face. "The Brotherhood is not so weak that my death will stop its work."

"Brotherhood? What do you mean?"

"Al Mualim is not the only one with desires upon the Holy Land. And that's all you'll have from me."

"Then I suppose that's it, huh? Well, since you believe in God…tell him that you're sorry. You know he's merciful. He'll listen…keep you safe, you know."

"He's long abandoned us. Long abandoned the men and women I took into my arms."

"What do you mean?" Nemo swiveled an ear around and cocked her head.

"Beggars, whores, addicts…do they strike you as proper slaves? Unfit for even the most diminutive tasks? No. I took them not to sell, but to save…and yet you and your assassin would kill us all…for no other reason than it was asked for you?"

"No, that's…that's not accurate." Nemo said. "The war benefits you. Look at all of the lives that are lost, all of the lives and hearts broken, futures destroyed, all of the unnecessary suffering."

"Yes, you would think that, ignorant as you are…war of your mind. They say it's what your kind do best. Do you see the irony in all of this? No, not yet it seems, but you will."

Nemo suddenly felt a heavy weight in her chest that wasn't there before. She looked down at Talal and bent over to him, for he was still alive and breathing. "I'm sorry." She said without looking at him, half-closing her eyes. "You have the wrong idea."

"Do you deny the fact that you might as well?"

"No, actually. The thing is…is that…there is no right or wrong idea. There's just idea. It doesn't make me much different than you are…but slavery? If you truly were indeed saving them…then…"

"What? I'd choose a different method?"

"Yes, but things are complicated." She closed her eyes and put on a look that could have easily been considered shame. "I'm sorry, Talal." She brought a hand underneath his head and lifted him slightly, placing her forehead on his hot neck. She could feel his pulse…so close, right beneath her claws…all of that sweet blood…. "Forgive me."

She severed his jugular and felt an onward spray of blood. The man went limp and she set him down gently. Some strange feeling swept over her. She couldn't tell if she liked it or if she was afraid of it. She couldn't even describe what it was. The first time she took a life she went into distress and literally had a mental breakdown. Then she felt sad and angry and regretful and sick and relieved all at the same time, but then she was better with it. Now she felt somewhat humbled with a heaviness in her chest and her gut. She felt her feet and legs go cold as if the blood was sucked right out of them and she didn't even realize that her lungs refused to breathe; it was as if they didn't want to.

When she stood up, she realized all the blood that she got on herself. Talal's blood had pooled on the ground in a bright-red puddle. Upon seeing that, her mind suddenly switched to Altair. SHE JUST KILLED HIS TARGET. Of course she was thinking 'oh shit' at the moment. She did have much of Talal's blood already on her…maybe they could just smear the feather on the blood that she already has?

She bent down to the pool of blood and put her hands in it. It was warm. She soaked a small corner of her dark-colored shirt in it and smeared her wrists with it. And to think that she used to be squeamish towards human blood this close…now she's not.

And she had to restrain herself from drinking the goddamn stuff.

Altair suddenly appeared in a very low-profile matter. As he approached-noticeably looking down at his ex-target-all what Nemo said was, "I accidentally killed him! I thought that I was going to have to find you and then I got blood all over myself and my shirt and I guess that I accidentally broke a few of his bones and he was dy-"

"Nemo, I believe you." He said and took out the feather. "This is my fault. I should have ordered you to not kill him, but thank you, though."

Nemo was silent as he bent over to the pool of blood and soaked the feather in it. "I'm sorry." She said. "He had some very interesting things to say."

"Speak them, then."

"He said that God had abandoned them, left them a long time ago and claimed that everyone is a slave. Then he spoke about a brotherhood, said that Al Mualim isn't 'the only one with eyes on the Holy Land.' Do you have _any_ clue what that means?" She currently just needed to sound as if she knew nothing about it.

"We will speak with Malik, first." He stood back up.

"Altair…he truly did believe that he was saving them."

"As would any madman. Come." He signaled for her to follow, but not without handing her the feather first.

Nemo looked at him quizzically. "Aren't you suppose to carry this?"

"You killed the target. You present it to Malik."

"Won't that looked seriously bad for you?"

"I do not care what he thinks. It does not concern me. I will not, however, lie to him."

Nemo looked at it for a moment before gripping it tightly.

She had the sudden urge to cry.

Altair stepped in and Nemo was scared not just because she had to break the news that she just assassinated someone, but also because Malik said in a very cheerful mood, "Altair! Good to see you return to us! Tell me. How fair the mission?"

"The deed is done. Talal is dead."

"Ooh, I know, I know…in fact THE ENTIRE CITY KNOWS! Have you forgotten the meaning of-"

"Things went different, Malik."

Malik gave him a strange look, noticing how he didn't present the feather. Altair just glared at Nemo, who sheepishly opened her fist and held out the feather. "There was a change of plans." She held out the feather but didn't look at him. Malik quieted down.

"_You_ assassinated him?"

"He ran out of the warehouse and I accidentally killed him, but he spoke to me, though."

Malik glared with fiery hatred towards Altair who only looked at him emotionlessly. "Come here, Nemo." He said and signaled for her to come closer. She did so as he came out from behind the counter. He took the feather from her and examined it. "Nemo, I need to have a word with Altair. Do you mind going upstairs?"

"Um…you really don't need to-"

"Please, Nemo? It is alright."

She looked over at Altair who immediately said, "You know you can trust him."

She sighed and walked up the stairs.

All what she heard was Malik yelling and Altair saying things in his trademarked monotone voice.

"-we can argue the details all you'd like Malik, but that doesn't matter. The fact remains is that the target is dead and we have information that Nemo still needs to tell us-"

"She will _not_ be coming down here to save _you_, that's for sure!"

"Not to save me, just to give you the information."

"Then why don't _you_, already?"

"She's only told me parts because we were running out of time."

Malik let out a whole list of colorful swears but they weren't anything compared to Nemo's swearing. Hers is actually entertaining.

"I _do_ take blame for it, Malik, for I did not give clear orders, but you needn't argue about it. She has already taken more lives than I ever have and if yo-"

"It will _NOT_ be tolerated, Altair! It is not measured in how many lives are taken! I want you out of my sight NOW! I will speak to Nemo and Nemo _only_. Get out of here."

"Ma-"

"I said to get out!"

Altair sighed and turned around, went up the wall, and waited on the rooftop.

"Holy shit." Nemo said and came down the stairs. "You sound like my mom."

"I am sorry Nemo, I truly am. You didn't need to hear all of that garbage."

"Just as long as you realize that he doesn't hate you."

Malik looked up at her.

"I mean, if he hated you, then don't you think that it would have been obvious by now? Seriously, what went down between you two? Alty and I are best friends yet you scream at him like a moose giving birth to an elephant."

"It is nothing. I do not wish to undermine your relationship with him." He went back behind the counter. "What is it that Talal had to say to you?"

She told him all what she could remember and asked him about the 'brotherhood' thing.

"That is strange…" he said in contemplation and put a hand up to his chin. "…a brotherhood like the assassins? What could he have meant by Al Mualim 'desired upon the Holy Land?'"

"Hey, if I knew, then I wouldn't be asking." She lied. Of course she knew what happens!

"I will think about that. In the meantime, you and Altair should get a bit of rest. Tell me, though; how is it that _you_ assassinated Talal?"

"I was going to chase after him if he ran out of the warehouse. Remember that I'm a wolf, I'm quite fond of chases."

"Did-"

"Yes, Altair did ask me to do so, but I would have done so anyway on my own whim, no doubt. Excuse me, I'm gonna go get him. I hope he didn't go into the streets." She turned around, but before leaving, she said, "Thanks, Malik."

"Thanks? What for?"

"For caring about someone you know practically nothing about." She gave him a small smile. "You're a good man, you know. Stay that way." She disappeared behind the wall.

Up on the latticework of the rooftop she found Altair sitting down with his knees up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He was staring off into space over the city, most likely thinking very hard. Nemo felt her entire body painlessly shift into a small wolf.

Now a canine, she slowly padded over to him and nudged him with her muzzle. When he gave no response, she licked him on the side of the face. She sat down next to him and looked at what she could see of Jerusalem from that rooftop.

"I killed his brother." Altair said.

Nemo was caught off-guard and looked over at him, swiveling her ears around to the front.

"There was a mission that I sent to do with him and his brother, Kadar. I failed. It was the biggest failure of my life. I was a fool. I was arrogant…stupid…a damn bastard, that's what I was. Don't tell me I'm not." He glanced up at her for a moment. "I was blunt and overconfident, and because of it, Kadar is dead. I thought that I killed Malik as well, but when I spoke with Al Mualim, he arrived. He had succeeded the mission but he lost two things that he can never replace. Mainly his brother, but also his arm. All because of me."

Nemo said nothing back and turned her head around.

"One reason why I know that's all true is because you're not saying anything back."

Nemo's tail dropped. She felt something strange. Sadness. Not from her, but from Altair. Something wasn't right. Was that suppose to happen?

She laid down on the ground and closed her eyes as Altair scratched the thick fur on her neck. _Yeah…I know that you killed Kadar. Well…you lead him to his death inadvertently. And that Malik lost his arm because of you. And that you failed. And that that's the very reason why you're doing all of this crud in the first place. _

Neither of them talked; they just waited and watched the city. Nothing was happening; people were returning home because ending day.

"You're regretful." She said.

Altair didn't say anything.

* * *

**For any of you who don't know, Alex Mercer is the protagonist in a game called 'Prototype' and he can run up walls and sprint wickedly fast and does all of these really cool jump-twist things and I was like, "That reminds me of Alex Mercer." and the whole 'YOU SUICIDAL MORON' thing was also from Prototype, it just seemed fitting to put into the story because…well…that's what Nemo was thinking! XD**

**Yeah, I forgot to mention that chapter 13 was actually a day late because I uploaded it, I just didn't upload it to the story because I had to go somewhere XD But anyway, here is the final conclusion of chapter fourteen! I personally think that the chase/fighting/assassination scene went really good.**

**Ugh, I have another sunburn on my head -_-**

**I'm off to get a piece of cake and write the fifteenth chapter! Was the fight scene good or was it too choppy?**


	15. Injured

**As you read the part of about New Hampshire, for anyone who's from New Hampshire, please don't take offense about what Nemo says about the Old Man of the Mountain!**

**I noticed that I've been slacking on the vocabulary in the past few chapters so maybe you'll find more 'challenging' words in this chapter.**

**Heheheh, I just love torturing Altair :) Pity him in this chapter, I think he'll need it.**

* * *

Altair walked in with Nemo strolling right beside him over to Al Mualim's desk, stopping several paces away as he usually did.

"I trust you were successful?" Al Mualim said and turned around to the two.

"The slave trader is dead."

"Yes, the birds brought word to me, told me that you were not the one who actually brought the man to his death." He glanced at the lycanthrope.

"Some things happened and the plan was changed." Nemo said, knowing that in some way she was actually protecting Altair.

"So I was told. War is a dirty business…" He gazed up at the rafters for a moment. "…labor and soldiers seem to be in short supply. Killing that man has saved countless lives, and both of you are credited for it."

Altair was about to articulate something of the matter, most likely protest that Nemo should receive the full credit, but he ceased himself from doing so.

"You've no doubt deprived the Crusaders and Saracens of additional troops. These are dark days, when men's lives are valued in gold, and such small amounts at that."

_Every day is always a dark day in a video game. Even in Spyro; in every game at least one character was like "These are dark days," from Ignitus to somebody else and then to Hunter! And now Al Mualim's saying it! It never ends!_ Nemo thought. It must have been a perpetual thing….

"He saw it differently," Altair stated. Al Mualim looked over to him. "Claimed they were not slaves at all, that he was helping them."

"Do you know how it is you can tell a man is mad?"

"They speak to air, claw themselves."

"No. They are the ones who speak and act as if there is nothing wrong." Al Mualim slowly began to pace back and forth with his long and old hands clasped behind his back.

After a moment, Altair said, "I don't understand."

"What he means is that only a couple of those men or women…mostly men…would admit to evil, but they always rationalized or explained or did something of the like. They mislead a lot." Nemo said. She noticed the somewhat surprised look on Al Mualim face and it was then she realized that she was close to exactly what he was going to say next. Taking the words right out of someone's mouth…literally….

"So he lied?"

"I was not there, did not hear his words myself," said Al Mualim, "but yes, if you speak truly, I think that he was simply trying to excuse his deeds."

"I saw them, though. The men and women who would be made slaves. They were a strange sort; old, mad, sick."

"Weak, yes, what better way to make a soldier than to take a broken man and rebuild him, give him all he's been denied with the promise of more?"

"It seems a lot of work."

"It is, but what you get in return is _loyalty_. Knowing what it was they stood to loose, such men would be loathed to betray their savior."

"An interesting theory…."

"See? There is still much I can teach you. Everyone deceives each other, themselves. Learn to pierce the veil and know that _nothing is true_. Go. It is time you continue with your work. The next name on the list is William of Monferrat, a man in Acre. Destroy him and many more lives will be saved. Another rank is restored to you, as is a piece of your equipment. We'll speak again when the next has fallen."

A few moments later and Nemo was watching Altair skillfully flip a sword around his wrist with one hand. "What's so different about this sword than your other one?"

"This one's sharper." He put it into its sheath.

"Of course." Nemo rolled her eyes. "Anything to increase survivability, huh?"

"It remains of the utmost importance for many."

"Only just as paramount as it is for one's length of trying to save their own or their friend's."

"What would you sacrifice?"

"My life."

He didn't say anything back. That topic is something he never thinks much about.

As they descended the stairs Nemo eyed the books that lined the walls and filled the bookshelves.

Outside everything was usual. People were sparring and practicing in the fighting ring, the instructor was giving orders and advice, people from the village came into the fortress to either speak with Al Mualim or their husbands, and the birds were doing their usual chatter up high on their perches.

"I'm going to go look for Jafar," Nemo said. "I'll be gone for a while."

"Do as you wish." Altair said and glanced at her for a moment before proceeding up the stairs. He knew that she wouldn't do anything stupid anyway, despite her sometimes rash decisions. He thought it funny and sometimes queer of her efforts to prove that she's just as capable as everybody else. From strange name-calling to physically telling them-even tacitly-it was all interesting. Of course, in truth, she's much stronger than anyone else. If there was anyone marked with authority because of their physical capabilities and their level of strength, she'd be like a freakin' god if she truly wanted to. But of course she didn't want that. Some things about her still disturbed him but Altair has grown quite used to it.

Somehow he found his thoughts wandering off to the treasure that Al Mualim has. Why does he keep that silver sphere with him all the time? What's its significance? Why did he order his best men to retrieve it? Did it have some sort of power? If so, what would happen if Nemo got a hold of it, other than burn a hole through her hand? The thoughts and questions began racing throughout his mind. At first he initially thought that if he were given a order, he would carry it out and make sure that it's done, whatever the means, no matter what it was. Nemo taught him otherwise. So did his missions. Every job he's been given has a reason…so why these nine names? Why that piece of silver? Since Al Mualim wanted (the old man actually made it sound like a need) it so badly, why wouldn't he inform Altair or anyone else why that was so?

If it did have a special kind of power, what _would_ it do Nemo? He's heard stories of single items that could make a man immortal and give him powers beyond all others. Of course he didn't believe them; in order to be immortal you would have to die, and then you might not even be in an afterlife forever. At least that's what he was beginning to think. Either way, what would something like that do to something like her? _Make her a god,_ that's what. If one of those items from those old folklore stories is true and a person can start a fire over land she could probably engulf the whole world. Not a very comforting thought, but it was an interesting one.

Then he realized that he was questioning his master and his God.

* * *

"Behold! The power of gravity and inertia!" Nemo exclaimed and joyfully put her hands up in the air for emphasis. She had thrown a rather small rock at a much larger one near a cliff and caused a mini-avalanche of various sized stones by knocking it off its own weight. The falling rocks soon plopped into the lake and disappeared within the white, foamy waves. Jafar had tried doing the same thing but he couldn't hit the right angle with enough force. "It's strange how the rocks here are all brownish." Nemo said as she threw another rock down the steep, rocky cliff.

"Really? Are they not brown where you're from?"

"Some were, but they were usually other colors. We had a lot of pink quartz. There was even a state called 'the granite state' because it had so much granite that it was just ridiculous." She threw another rock.

"Really? What does granite look like?" Jafar asked as he inspected a pebble.

"Dotty, but they come in different colors, like black, gray, a dark green. Though it's a little ironic because granite, despite how common it is in that state, is still wicked expensive. Well…maybe not wickedly…but it's not cheap, I'll tell you that."

"You do come from a very different land."

"Definitely. And you know what else? That state had something 'the Old Man of the Mountain' and it was an outcropping in the rock that looked like a human face and it fell. They mourned over it. OVER A ROCK. Ridiculous if you ask me but I suppose that it was pretty important to them."

"Almost like how horses are important to the assassins?"

"I suppose. That thing was going to fall anyway." She put her hands behind her head and took in a breath of the fresh but dusty air. It was surprisingly cool in the shade.

After a moment of silence, Jafar said, "Rahmah is very thankful for you, you know. Her brothers and sisters are doing well. They think your an angel. Or…at least Rahmah thinks that you're an angel. She's convinced, in fact."

"Ah, great…well, I'm not going to be sprouting wings any time soon." Either way, it was still nice of Rahmah to think of her as an angel. Even though she was anything but.

Nemo and Jafar decided to go visit the kitchen. They had given him a small break just so that he could spend some time with the ever-so-famous lycanthrope. But, still wanting to be together, Nemo decided that she would help him out with whatever it was he had to do.

"Hey, Nemo," Jafar said as he handed her a large basket filled with grain. "What's inertia?"

"It's a property of matter." Nemo said quickly but realized that she probably shouldn't have. Curse the habit of answering scientific questions without a second thought! The Third Crusade had alchemists, not scientists. And they usually didn't think rationally about the world.

"I don't understand."

"Um…it's the resistance of change to movement unless a directional force interrupts it. Like say there's a jagged rock stuck in a crevice and you have to pull really hard to get it out. It takes a lot of force because it's resisting but a direct force is pulling it. Eventually it'll come out." Nemo always was a straight-A student in science class.

"What does that have to so with those rocks?"

"The rock I threw knocked another rock out of place and because of it, it caused an avalanche. A small one, but an avalanche nonetheless. Because the larger rock was resting and it was acted upon by a directional force." She set the heavy basket down and reached up to a top shelf. It was loud in the kitchen, especially when the ovens baking the breads were open. Fire was loud. _Well, there's my little science lesson for the day. I sure do hope that I remembered that correctly…Mr. Riant did make things confusing at times…._

The next day was simple. They awoke early, had breakfast before everyone else, got their horses, and set out for Acre. It took them three days to get there but neither of them obviously minded…maybe except for the fact that Altair wished that he could get there faster, but he never complained. Then again he's not really the kind of person to complain about things.

Once they reached the gates of Acre they entered the same way how they always do; Altair snuck past the guards with a group of scholars, Nemo scaled the wall when nobody was looking, Fath was asking why Nemo was crazy, and Seema became dead to the world. Of course, it was cloudy-it being Acre and all-and it was always threatening to rain, the nimbostratus clouds never wanting to leave anyone's sight. And it was always smoky. And the scent of dead bodies with a metallic tinge of blood pervaded throughout the entire area. People were near a cemetery burying and mourning over various fallen loved ones and the animals stayed at bay, waiting for any opportunity to peck at the dead bodies. The crows were persistent but the fox, remembering that human flesh was extremely bad-tasting, decided to leave and hunt for berries…if it was even possible for them to grow in such a depressing-looking place.

Nemo blended in with the people and joined up with Altair. She glanced somewhat nervously at the guards who were looking at her strangely. She quickly averted her gaze and picked up her pace to walk alongside her friend.

A few moments later and they both dropped down from the roof into the Assassins Bureau. Why was it always the roof? Why not just the front door? To avoid suspicion, perhaps?

"Rafiq," Altair said to get the old man's attention.

"Word has spread of your deeds, Altair," The rafiq said without turning around to meet them. "It seems you are sincere in your desire to redeem yourself."

"I do what I can."

"And sometimes you do it well. I assume it is work that reunites us?"

"Yes. William of Montferrat is my target. What can you tell me of the man himself?"

"William has been named regent while the king conducts his war. The people see it as a strange choice given the history between Richard and William's son, Conrad. But I think Richard rather clever for it."

"Clever how?"

"Richard and Conrad do not see eye-to-eye on most matters." Finally, the man turned around to see them. He looked at Nemo for a moment before meeting Altair's gaze…if that was even possible considering the hood. "Though they are civilly not in public, there are whispers that each intends evil on the other. And then there was that business with Acre's captain Saracens. In its way, Conrad has returned to tire and Richard has compelled William to remain here as his guest."

"You mean his hostage?"

"Whatever you wish to call it. William's presence here should dissuade Conrad from acting out."

"I've never been one for politics."

"But surely you realize your every action shapes the course of this land's future? You are a politician too, in your own way."

"As you wish. Now where would you suggest I begin my search?"

"Richard's citadel, southwest of here…or rather, the market in front of it. You'll find the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in that direction, as well. It's a popular place and should be filled with popular citizens. Finally, try the border to the west, where two districts meet. That should start you on your way."

"Very well. We won't disturb you further."

_We? I haven't even said a word yet!_ Nemo thought to herself. Perhaps just her mere presence would be considered a 'disturbance.'

"It's no trouble at all." The rafiq turned back around to his books.

Just as Altair was beginning to pass Nemo, he paused for a moment and looked at her strangely.

"What?" She said in a slightly exasperated voice.

"You smell like wet dog."

Nemo sniffed her hand, saying, "I smell pretty normal to me."

Altair glanced over to a window and saw the rain pouring down on the streets. Thanks to Acre's geography, the ground is much more stable than that of Masyaf or Jerusalem so when it got wet there was a much lesser chance of a land or mudslide. On a not-so-positive side, it was almost always never sunny in Acre. All of those nimbostratus clouds constantly hung low and stuck to their places, almost like being under a perpetually stationary front. "I want you to stay here," he said to her as he turned back around.

"What? Are you serious?" She stood on the tips of her toes to be more eye-leveled with him but it didn't really make herself much taller.

"I know what it is that you are going to say, so I will let you know that you are indeed totally capable of doing these sorts of things, but I want you to stay here for now. Just for now."

"I'm kind of surprised that you're not waiting for the rain to stop." She followed him as he went into the next room.

"You're assuming that I don't like the rain?"

"Yes, actually."

"Well then you're wrong." He started climbing up the wall. Before he was completely over, he turned back to her and said, "Stay." Maybe he could see that pleading look in her eyes. Nemo hated it whenever someone used commands words on her…she was almost always compelled to obey if she likes that person. It gets annoying and Altair was beginning to discover that one oh-so diminutive clandestine.

It wasn't actually raining too hard outside. It was more of a drizzle, really, but Altair obviously didn't mind. Rain or shine he just needed to get the job done but he wound up walking around for about an hour until he actually found something interesting.

He glanced over at a man dressed in white robes appearing to be hiding behind large wooden crates with a frightened expression. He walked over to him but right as the informant saw him, he said, "Oh God, don't kill me! Oh…it's you, Altair." He stood up straight and calmed himself down. "You scared me. Richard's men are after me-two of them, to be exact. I was trying to strike a deal with them, but I realized that they were toying with me, so I ran away. You shall be the Angel of Death and collect their heads before they collect mine. When it is done, I shall tell you the deal."

Altair nodded once in agreement and glanced at a group of passing guards. He lowered his head slightly and clasped his hands together as he walked right past them. They didn't even notice him one bit.

He decided to use his eagle vision as he walked through an almost-empty street. He knew it was a bad and a good idea at the same time; good because he would then be able to see his target, bad because his depth-perception got seriously messed up and he couldn't see exactly where it was that he was stepping. Even though he could see it was like being blind.

Then, after a moment of pretending to be drunk (he tripped over a cat…out of all things) he saw a bright yellowish figure not too far away. He turned his vision back to normal and kept his eyes on the man who was walking towards him. They didn't look at each other, not even when Altair purposefully walked into him and pretended to hug him as he extended the hidden blade and plunged it into the man's abdomen. He gasped with shock and staggered a moment as Altair let go of him and walked away. The assassin put the blade back in and listened to the man's body fall to the ground with a heavy thud.

Just as he rounded a corner, an extremely strong force hit him and nearly knocked him to the ground. He slammed right into the stone wall of a building and felt pain rocket down through his arm and into his neck. He turned to see what had just happened. Another drunken man stumbling about attacked him and started yelling (or screaming) incoherent and incomprehensible words.

Altair sighed and brought his hand up to his right arm, which had literally taken the brunt of the force when he slammed into the wall. He grimaced slightly and thought that it may have been hyperextended because of catching himself poorly. He cursed to himself and walked away, now feeling the throbbing beginning to occur. He was thankful that it was his right arm instead of his left (he uses his hidden blade on the left).

He leaned against a wall as the pain began to increase. He set his jaw tight and looked up to the sky, taking in even but deep breaths to ease the pain. Maybe it was damaged more than he thought it was. Either way, he continued to find the next target. Then he would go back to the Assassin's Bureau and seek help if need be.

The next man was easily found in a nearby alleyway and the assassin quickly dispatched him. He was then able to quickly returned to the informant.

As he walked up the informant with a hand up to his shoulder and a bent arm, he listened to the man exclaim, "What a relief it is to know that I am safe! Thank you, Master! I tried to make a deal with the citadel guards to leave the gates open even when the alarm sounds. I failed you…so now your only escape through Richard's citadel will be to climb the fortress walls. Forgive me."

Altair didn't respond and began to walk away until the informant asked, "Master, are you hurt?"

He turned his head back to him. "Yes, but I will be fine."

"Should I seek help?"

"I have my own connections." He began to make his way back to the Assassin's Bureau.

* * *

"So you like books?" Nemo said and looked at the Arabic scrawled across the pages.

"I've always had a love for books, which are quite rare for this region of the world. You'll mostly find books in places like Damascus and Jerusalem." He looked up at her. "Strange…you cannot read that language yet you look at it anyway."

"It's pretty, like a style of art. What's parchment made out of?"

"Usually goat hide, but sometimes it is made out of other animal skins, such as cows or sheep."

"That's um…interesting. Our paper is made out of trees and plants, and we often recycled it so that even if it was completely dirty and unneeded paper, it would be clean and new."

"That is unique. Might I ask how?"

"I learned once, but I can't remember. Something really big was used, that's all I know." She was startled when she heard someone drop down from the roof and scream abruptly. She quickly went into the next room and found Altair slouching over and protecting his right arm by cradling it to his chest. "Alty, what the-are you alright? What happened?"

"Accident." He replied and walked to the rafiq, but Nemo stopped him.

"Hold on a moment, cowboy. Let me see that arm of yours."

"Are you any good at-"

"I was close friends with a nurse. Let me see."

Altair tried his best to slip out of his robes and his tunic without whimpering too much over the pain. He could move the lower part of his arm but couldn't move his shoulder. If he didn't know any better he would have called it broken and he definitely should not have jumped down from the rooftop.

Just as the rafiq emerged from the back, Nemo and Altair were already on their knees. "It was just a drunkard who pushed me into the wall and I landed in a bad way." He sucked in a breath as she lightly glided her fingers over his arm.

"Can you tell me where it is that it hurts?"

"Mostly my shoulder, elbow, and wrist."

_Great, all the joints. _"Can you do this?" She held out her hand and opened and closed her fingers. He did the same without difficulty. "Try doing this, then." She extended her arm. He couldn't even move it an inch. She put her hand carefully up to his shoulder and rounded it underneath. She cursed to herself and said, "It's dislocated. I can tell because the condyle is out of place."

"Do you know how to fix it, then?"

"Yeah…but you might want a block of wood."

"Just do what you need to, then." He turned his head away.

Nemo put a hand on his good shoulder and moved a little closer, then moved her arm up around his neck in a semi-hug to stop him from moving too much. With her free hand, she placed the palm on his shoulder and quickly pushed the humerus bone back into its socket, followed by a 'pop.' Altair cried out from the sudden burst of pain and tightly gripped Nemo with his good arm. He put his forehead on the connection of her shoulder and neck as he felt the throbbing increase as his heart rate suddenly become much faster. He gritted his teeth together and focused on breathing calmly, but that was extremely difficult. He's good at dealing with pain but he hadn't felt pain like this in quite a long time. It was coming as quite a shock. "You're not going to be able to move that arm for a while," Nemo said. Jeez…even with a painkiller a dislocated shoulder still hurts like hell. Then what would _this_ be considered, when painkillers are still about eight-hundred and fifty years away from being created? She really did pity him.

At this point, the rafiq was already out of the room to send for a healer.

Altair didn't let go for a while. He was definitely in agony; pain was too diminutive a word to call this.

It was strange seeing him so vulnerable. Nemo could never image him actually being in a state of long-term pain, never mind getting something as serious and painful as a bone dislocated from the socket. It's one of the downturns to having a ball-and-socket joint. They were both going to need help to get back to Masyaf.

After a while of waiting, a healer came and Altair finally let go of Nemo.

* * *

Nemo sniffed Altair's neck and licked him once with a concerned looked on her face. He lifted up his good hand and stroked her head a few times. He was laying down on the piles of pillows and was obviously in a great amount pain. "What about the other things that you need to do?" Nemo asked. At this point, Altair was used to seeing her speak without opening her mouth. "The assassination?"

"The rafiq sent a letter to Al Mualim. I may not be able to continue the mission."

Nemo put the best dog-scowl on her muzzle. "Then I'll finish it…err…getting the information, anyway."

"No, Nemo. It's alright."

"Then why did you bring me along? You made me stay inside, anyway."

Altair sat up and turned around to her. "Thank you for helping me," he said to her. "But you can't be the one doing the assassinations. The last time was an accident."

"I didn't say kill the target, I said just to get the information…so that maybe you or I or both of us will have a chance if that arm of yours is better. Speaking of which…that's probably going to take a while to recover from."

"That's what worries me. We'll wait for what Al Mualim has to say about it."

The wolf sat down on her haunches. "Ever heard of physically therapy?"

He looked up at her and set his head against the wall.

"I know a little bit of it. It helps to speed up the recovery."

"Perhaps later."

"Obviously later, I don't mean now." She sniffed his arm where a ring of deep violet formed around his shoulder, elbow, and wrist. His wrist had actually been hyperextended and it was painful to move it even a centimeter. What he really needed was ice to help cease the swelling.

It was hopeless. He wouldn't be able to climb a building with an arm injured like that, or grab things such as people, or escape at all, in that case. And of course Nemo can't do the mission; it was specifically assigned to Altair, and now that Al Mualim dropped the assignment for the assassin to watch over her there really was no excuse for her to be there other than the fact that she wanted to come and Altair enjoys being with her. Maybe they would just wait about a week, but even then his arm would still be sore to a very painful point and would definitely be weak. In two weeks it would be better, in three it would be almost healed, and in four it would probably be good enough to use again such as climbing building and things of the like. Then again, Altair is an incredibly strong person and therefore might probably have a quick recovery. Either way, this was very bad. It's always very bad.

A moment of thinking, Nemo said, "I could get what you need to know and bring you to William, then you can shank him with a knife, and I can get us both the hell out of there."

He just looked at her quizzically.

_This isn't suppose to happen! Altair never got a dislocated shoulder or a dislocated anything I the game! This isn't right. _"Well then if you're not going to kill the guy then I will on my own whim, and I'll personally tell to that to Al Mualim."

"Nemo, you shouldn't. Why are you so persistent?"

"Because things just took a very wrong turn and think of what will happen if William isn't killed. Lots of lives are always at stake whenever you do something like this and after the target is gone those lives are very possibly saved. It's cruel, and weird, but necessary. Now I'm worried about this guy and what he plans on doing. And I don't want to find out what will happen if we don't do anything."

"You speak the truth, Nemo." He closed his eyes and went silent. "Damn fool…."

"EXCUSE ME, YOU FAGGOT?"

"Not you, the drunkard. If he wasn't drunk then I wouldn't be like this. Stupid damn bastard."

"Sorry…it's more like a reflex for me to throw an insult right back. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about." He took in a deep breath and sighed. How long would it take for him to be completely healed? It hurt a _lot_, and it wasn't the sore kind of hurt. It was the kind of hurt that throbbed constantly and where even the slightest movement would hurt and make breathing feel as if a thousand pounds of weight were dropped on the chest.

Altair started wondering how he would manage to finish the mission.

* * *

**}:) I have so much fun torturing my characters (:{**

**For those of you who don't know it, yes, as far as I've read, you can still move your arm if you have a dislocated shoulder and yes, it does hurt like hell. I don't remember it but I had a dislocated elbow and the doctor just pushed/popped it back into the socket so I do believe that the method in which Nemo fixed it was correct. Though I'm sure that for some cases a person might actually need surgery to put it back into the socket (O.o) but Altair's wasn't as severe as that. And when you hyperextend a body part it means that it's basically pushed or bent farther than it would normally go and it gets injured. I tried to catch a football one time and I hyperextended my ring finger (which is quite ironic, considering this is Assassins Creed) and it HURT for several days afterward, and I mean the kind of hurt where you just want to throw up. So Altair is in a bad condition, but I enjoy writing it XD**

**Yeah, I'm evil like that :)**

**WOOHOO! THIS STORY IS OFFICIALLY OVER 100,000 WORDS! Time to dance.**


	16. A Different Course

**Oh, um…about the 'psychotic rat' comment in the story, that was based off of where we once lived. The water was polluted and when the town/state tried cleaning it, it made it worse, and the squirrels were literally psychotic because they drank the water. They had some serious mental issues. They would chase people around! Rabid beats! O_O**

**Also, Sean Paul is a singer and he comes up with his own words sometimes, so that's the relation I'm making to later on in the chapter. Not everyone will know who he is.**

**Enjoy the chapter, I suppose. Don't get mad at Nemo…or me, in that case.**

* * *

Nemo, still a wolf, waited patiently for the rafiq to read the note that Al Mualim sent him. She continued thinking about what he would say: 'wait and see what happens,' 'come back to Masyaf and abort the mission,' 'assassinate the man yourself, Nemo,' 'have Altair assassinate William but you do all the work.' He could say anything.

Finally, after a while, the rafiq entered the room holding the tiny piece of aged paper. He looked down at her and said, "Al Mualim wants you to assassinate William."

Oh hell no. "What? Are you serious?" She stood up on all fours. "I'm no good at doing it! Cleanly, anyways."

"It is what Al Mualim wishes."

"I'm not an assassin, though! This is the exact kind of thing where if this were a fanfic, all of the readers would be screaming at the author because the main character isn't doing what she or he is suppose to do and another unneeded character is doing it."

"It is what Al Mualim _commands_, Nemo."

She bared her teeth. "I don't take orders from anybody."

"Nemo," Altair said, giving her a stern look. She looked at him and everyone went silent for a moment.

Nemo sighed. "Fine. But this isn't right. Things just took a seriously wrong turn." _Yeah, I'm not suppose to be doing the mission! This _never_ happened in the game! What the hell is going on?_

"You may have tomorrow at the most to carry it out, so I would get started immediately if I were you, Nemo." The rafiq said-ordered, rather-and walked off into the other room where his books were.

Nemo put her ears flat on her head and let out a nearly inaudible dog-whimper.

"The gates are going to be closed, so you'll have to climb over the fortress walls to escape," Altair said. "Knowing you, that shouldn't be difficult."

"Okay." _Ah shit, this isn't right. This isn't right. This is all wrong. I mean, sure, I've killed a lot of people before, but this is a biggie in the game. Why am _I _doing it?_

Then another question came into mind. Altair always stained a bird feather red with his target's blood as a token of proof that the mission was successful. How was she going to do that, being all paws and everything? Swallow an arm? That could work. It's not _really_ cannibalism since she's not technically human, right? Suddenly a lot of stress hit her right in the chest and she found herself hyperventilating (it looked like panting) even though it was cool and comfortable in the Assassins Bureau.

"If I come back retching up bones, don't be surprised." Nemo said and jumped out of the bureau.

She turned herself into a smaller wolf size and jumped into an empty alleyway so that no one would see her. When she emerged among the streets, she remembered how the game went; near the docks, there'd be a throng of people, she'll see King Richard, William will be there and they'll have an argument. People will leave once Richard departs on his Clydesdale horse and William will have a little 'talk' with a few people, resulting in the death of two men. In the game, Altair would be there and get William, but now it's the other way around, and Nemo strongly detested the feeling of the burden. It wasn't the thought of the assassination that burdened her; it was the thought that she's not the assassin, that the entire gameplay took a huge twist, and now she's not quite sure what else will come. Altair will be alright, that's for sure, but she just realizes now that she's permanently within the storyline.

She quickly wiped the thought out of her mind. Any negative feelings can wait for later.

The rain was now a light drizzle and she suddenly thought of her dog tags. Hopefully the things wouldn't rust; they could be stainless steel or they could be just plain old unprotected iron.

She felt a sudden burning thirst and bent down to a nearby puddle. She lapped up the water and heard someone say, "What news?"

"Grim. I've finished my scout. A direct assault won't work."

_Someone already scouted for me? That's convenient._ Nemo swiveled her ears in their direction and listened to what it was the two men had to say.

"What's the trouble?"

"_Archers_. He's got them all over the fortress, and there's no easy way to reach them. They pick us off before we've made it ten feet inside."

"Kept a record, yes?"

"Aye. I've marked their positions on a map."

"Bring it to the others. No doubt they'll have use for it."

"Very well. I'll go at once."

The other younger-looking man put his hands on his friend's shoulders and said, "Stay strong, brother."

"Yes, thank you."

The two men departed and Nemo thought to herself that it was all too easy. High profile or low profile? High profile's fun, low profile's safer.

Ah, to hell with it, she thought. She pounced on the man's back, tackled him to the ground, ripped off his hip-pack thingy, and then fled before anyone had time to register what had just happened.

Snickering somewhat silently to herself, she let go of the pack and ripped the top off, ignoring the button-and-flap design. She took out the paper and had difficulty opening the folded piece of parchment. Now she knew where the archers were going to be, so that was good. There wasn't even a pattern; they were just spread out all over the place, but there were higher concentrations of archers in certain areas, so she would steer way clear of them. She sucks at dodgeball, what makes anyone think that she can dodge an arrow?

"Okay, so stay away from most areas, climb over the walls…but I don't know where William himself will be. I think he's in the rich district." She rose her head and turned it to the side towards a street. Nobody saw her in the alleyway. Knowing that somebody will eventually find the note, she swallowed the paper (she has a photographic memory so she'll have no problem remembering where the archers are) and dropped the pack into a bad-smelling hole in the ground…literally. Maybe it was a drainage system? A sewage system? Something else where unknown liquid and toxic chemicals swam? Nuclear locusts waiting within? Psychotic rats the size of pigs? She didn't care either way.

She had to guess which way the docks were, but after stumbling around the city, she managed to follow the ocean smell and was welcomed with a dull scene. Sure, the ocean is nice and pretty, but the waters were grayish because of the sky, it was cloudy, smoky, smelt like dead animals, and had several moored boats waiting in the waves.

After walking around a while and getting teased by guards (she so desperately wanted to kill the bastards), she heard a man say, "Perhaps it was unwise to embrace William. He is old and thinks too much of himself."

"His army is the largest beyond the ocean. We'll have need of them. For now I'll go and visit with the other brothers, make sure they have everything they need."

"Aye, they must not fall."

"Fear not; the master has a plan. Even now he prepares a way to turn our losses to his advantage should it come to that."

"What does he intend?"

"The less you know, the better. Just do as you've been instructed. Deliver the letter you carried to our master."

_Another pickpocket…I'm beginning to feel like Sly Cooper._ Nemo followed the old monk and wondered why all of the monks wore old brown robes. Why not just get new ones? She followed him for a while into a less-swarmed street and extended her neck. Her fang managed to grab the very tip of a piece of paper that was poking out of the bag. Once her teeth had a good grip on it, she yanked it out and ran away before the man noticed.

In an empty street, she sprawled the letter out and read it, which was very difficult since Times New Roman wasn't invented yet and this person's handwriting was cursive old-world chicken-scratch. The letter 'm' looked like some sort of unknown symbol and made the words look like something Sean Paul would write, since he creates his own words. God, does that say 'meet' or 'kleat?' She managed to decipher the letters and it turns out that a lot of people like to call him 'master' and he and Richard technically hate each other. It's bizarrely amusing, almost a grotesque enjoyment for Nemo. Seeing two people feud has always been somewhat entertaining just as long as you're not the one in the middle of it. William will also be near the southwest end of Acre near the docks and/or the harbor…but is conveniently located near a lot of guards. That sucked.

_That was really simple, but slightly dull. I thought that there would be something more exciting._ As she thought about many things, she returned back to the Assassins Bureau and, instead of heading straight for the rafiq, she walked over to Altair. Turns out that he had fallen asleep which, quite frankly, wasn't a very bad idea to escape the pain. After a moment of thinking about him, she walked in to the rafiq's room and said, "Well, the big cheese-on-the-nachos is screwed big time."

The rafiq gave her a puzzled looked.

She walked over to him and put her front paws on the countertop, panting. "I guess that people like to call him 'master' and he must be an older guy, according to some monk. I guess he's also selfish. He also has some 'personal issues' with that weirdo Richard guy and since William has come, Richard's not very happy about that. He'll be in a fortress to…I don't know, think, contemplate, plot, brood, be upset, sulk, something…and he'll be distracted. Then I'll floss my teeth with his spine, so to say."

"For once I believe that I understand what you mean." He took out a feather. "Do what you need to do. I do believe that Al Mualim just wants to see if you are loyal or not."

"To him?"

"I suppose."

"Dogs and wolves are only loyal to those they choose. Does he think I'm loyal to him?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I do not know for sure, but it is merely an assumption. I know that you are loyal to one person, that being Altair, and I do respect that."

"There's a few others. Well…I guess I'll get going now. There's not much I can do with a feather. Besides, I'm not an assassin."

"I will believe you when you do so, but do you plan on bringing proof?"

"I'll…swallow a body part, or something."

"That is rather-"

"Grotesque? Yeah, I know. You should see me with chickens." She turned around and walked away, but not before looking at Altair. It was strange to see him in such a peaceful, vulnerable, undisturbed position. It took a lot of self-restraint not to lick him on the face and pounce on him.

Nemo jumped over the wall and was still thinking about how this shouldn't be happening. It was actually quite aggravating. It was suppose to be Altair doing this, not her. Something just wasn't right, but it could have really all been just a freak accident. It made her want to bite the head off of the drunkard who injured her best friend. Effing moron.

Instead of walking or trotting, she ran to the gate where she knew William would meet with Richard. She was very confident in her abilities to kill William; the man had no chances of winning or escaping, and if he somehow did manage to get out of her paws, she'd hunt him down. She almost felt sorry for him.

She came out to a gigantic open plaza where a massive black iron gate began to open. She turned her head in the direction and tried not to get distracted by the fish marketer. Those fish smelt so good….

Several horns began blaring a tune and a crowd formed. Nemo gently swerved around the people and managed to get to the front. King Richard was mounted on his gigantic Clydesdale horse that was draped with a beautiful red covering. The horse's feet had fluffy white fur practically spilling over them. Richard was an older-looking man with grayish-blackish hair and a short beard. He was wearing a red cape, armor, and no crown. He also looked slightly livid.

"Three thousand souls," Richard said. "I was told they would be held as prisoners, used to barter for the release of our men."

"The Saracens would not have honored their end of the barter. You know this too true."

"I did you a favor."

William laughed. "Oh, yes. A _brave_ favor indeed. Now our enemies will be that much stronger in their conditions."

"Fine. It's not much harder."

"I know our enemy well! They will not be invulnerable, but filled with fear!"

"Tell me; how is it you know the intentions of our enemy so well? You, who forsake the field of battle to play with politics?"

"I did what was right! What was just!"

"You swore an oath to God, William, but that is not what I see here!" Richard started circling William with his horse. "No. I see a man who's-" He insulted Richard in a word Nemo had never heard before. It sounded like 'propellant,' but that hasn't been discovered yet.

"Your words are most unkind, my liege. I would hoped I might have earned your trust by now."

"You were sent to rule in my stead. How much more trust is required? Perhaps you would like my crown?"

"You miss the point! This is nothing new!"

"Much as I'd like to waste my day trading words with you, I've a war to fight. We'll have to continue this another time."

"Do not let me delay you, then."

"_For grace_." Richard made his horse trot away with several other men.

"I fear there's no place for men like him," said William, who turned around to several others. "Send word that I wish to speak with the troops," he said as another one man-obviously someone who worked for him-walked up to him in a formal manner. "Make sure that _everyone_ is doing their part. Warn them that any negligence will be _severely_ punished. I'm in no mood to be trifled with today."

"Yes, milord."

"The rest of you follow me!" He motioned with his hand for the others to follow. And with that, William left, several of his men following him.

Everyone in the crowd mingled together and went back to doing whatever it was that they were doing before. Nemo acted like a normal everyday stray a decided to take the front door for once. Thankfully, as she passed through the gate, the men guarding it paid no attention to her, and she was relieved. If they didn't notice anything suspicious then many of the others also might not. Hopefully they just saw a worthless scum-licking mutt.

She became very wary about the fact that there were so many guards and soldiers. They didn't appear to be suspecting anything but since they think that humans and animals are completely different, they would no doubt try to kill her if anything went wrong, and then her cover would be blown because she wouldn't die. Then she'd be screwed, and that would suck. She wants to give Al Mualim a BIG piece of her mind (and her language) when she returns to Masyaf, and if she can't kill William, then…well…that just sucks even more.

Time to send William to go take a dirt nap.

It started drizzling slightly just as she picked up William's scent. He was easy to follow; he smelt three times as worse as Altair and the rafiq combined. Not only is that pungent, but it would make most dogs turn their noses up if they didn't know it was from a human.

She stopped when the scent trail lead into an area that was guarded by archers and two big muscular men standing in the entryway. She remembered it; it was an open square area, William was disgruntled, and very bad things happen. As she thought about the sweet taste of blood, she felt drool beginning to seep out from her locked-tight muzzle and, being a wolf, let it do so as if she were infected with rabies. _What am I, a vampire?_ she thought to herself.

It was difficult in finding a way inside. She had to wait a while for the perfect alleyway to empty, and then when she was up on the rooftops, se had to be careful not to let anyone else see herself.

With a running head start, she leapt across a rooftop to another building and rushed at a guard who had his back turned. Upon hearing her paws, he turned around and let out an abrupt yelp as she pounced on him with an open mouth. She broke his neck to make sure that he was definitely dead and continued making her way towards William.

Once she reached the square opening, she contemplated on how she was going to rid of the archers on the rooftops near it. She could hear William's voice; "You are all so inadequate! It appears that I need to remind you all of something." His voice was drowned out by her own thoughts. She sucked at her school's archery class. She always hit the wall instead of the dartboard. She always hit the potholes in the road with her bike. She always threw the dodgeball but it always careened off to the side and, if it hit someone, it was always in the head or 'where the sun don't shine.' Either that or it was her teacher. So how would she get these guys at long-distance? Throw a boulder? Chuck another body? Just simply jump down, maul William, and jump away into the ocean and swim away? The last one seemed the most plausible.

There were two archers, both on one side of the wooden rooftop that was connected to the gray-stoned fortress wall that overlooked the ocean. Once one of the archers had his back turned, she ran down the wall silently, bit the archer on the neck, and carried his dead body back up the wall without making so much as a scraping noise of a mouse. Once she was atop the fortress wall, she threw the limp body over the edge. Low to the ground as an added caution, she padded over to the next archer. He looked baffled by the sudden disappearance of the other man, but as he was bamboozled, Nemo jumped from above and landed directly on top of him. She heard his spine break in half and, before anyone else looked up, she ran up the wall again and chucked his body into the foamy waves below. Now she was safer and jumped back to the lower level where she could hear William speak clearly. "But whether or not you see it, and you _should_, this is _your fault_. You brought shame upon us all! Skill and dedication are what won us heart, and you are required to keep it!" _Take a chill pill, Will._ Nemo thought, but instead of jumping down right away, she became intrigued in what he had to say. "I have been too lenient, it seems! But no more. You will train harder, and more often! If this means missing meal, missing sleep, so be it."

She peered from overhead and saw two dead bodies on the ground in a pool of blood. She was too late to save them, but she won't be too late to let her sudden bloodlust escape her. William continued to go on and on about them being fools, lazy ones at that, and the fact that they had failed in some spectacular manner.

Then, finally, one of those absent-minded idiotic but unfortunate fools spotted her (must have been quite a surprise to see a dark-colored wolf standing still and calmly with intent eyes) and, now compromised, she leapt from above. William saw her coming for him and quickly jumped out of the way.

Well, not something that she was anticipating, but she grabbed the wrong person and flung him around, then threw him aside. When she saw it wasn't William, all she said was 'whoops.' Then swords started reigning down upon her, but her claws managed to cut them down. She whipped herself around, grabbed a guard, slammed him into the ground, threw a guard into a group of three so hard that she killed the four, then sliced and bit down the others. It was just William who was left, but he was fleeing for his life, which wasn't really a bad idea. Before he left the square to call for help, she grabbed onto him, pulled him back, listened to him scream, then pinned him to the ground with her paw.

She only had one target, and it was the one target she wanted. She bared her pearly-white fangs as a reminder that she was in charge. "William de Monferrat. I was looking for you."

"You! You can speak!" He had a complete look of terror on his face and was grasping her huge paw.

"Yes, I can, and so can those dumbasses." She motioned to the whole city with her head. "Sorry that I'm not as sincere as Altair. He's actually kind when he kills his target. Calm, even. But just relax. I won't hurt you."

"Won't hurt me? Won't hurt me? _Ha_! You're fooling no one, demon!"

"If you believe me to be so then that is completely alright. I've stopped you, and for a while I almost didn't."

"What do you know of my work?"

"You were going to murder the king-you two hate each other, anyway-and you were going to give Acre for either yourself or your son."

William laughed. "For Conrad? My son is an _ass_, unfit to lead his host, let alone a kingdom. Richard, he is blinded by faith, he is not substantial. Acre does not belong to either of them."

"So you were going to give it to yourself?"

"The city belongs to its people," William said, his grip on her relaxing. He must have noticed that she wasn't baring her teeth anymore, but instead just had the front of her muzzle slightly raised to show a bit of white. She was still and listening intently, almost as if forgetting that she was there to kill him. She wasn't rigid or enraged anymore.

"That's something I would say," she said to him and let off a bit of weight on his chest. "But you stole from them…their money, food, disciplined them without even giving them any relief. You made them service you. Unless…did you not know?"

"Everything I did was to prepare them for the new world. Stole their food? No, I took possession, so that when the meantimes came, it might be rationed properly." He coughed a bit. Blood began to seep from his mouth. It was then Nemo realized that she had crushed a few of his ribs. "Look around. My history is without crime, save those committed by you and your ilk. As for the inscription, they were not being trained to fight, they were being taught the merits of order and discipline. These things are hardly indifferent."

Nemo thought for a moment. "Stay with me for a while." She gently picked him up in her mouth as a mother crocodile would carry her young and jumped up to the rooftop, then scampered up the wall and gingerly set him down. She laid down with him, resting his head on her large forearm. Her mouth was still slightly ajar.

"But some of this seems unjust. You killed two of those people back there." She motioned to the bodies down below. "Why?"

"They did not learn, they were a grave threat."

"Bu-"

"Maybe I didn't need to kill them…I did not anticipate your arrival." He looked at her yellow eyes and gave a weird smile. "_You are merciful_. I see it in you." He rose a hand and let it rest on her muzzle. "You and I are not much different, I see. Both believes land belongs to those who live in it, that people are weak and need guidance…we are so much alike. Yet you kill me."

Nemo stared at him, speechless. After a moment, she lifted her head to make sure that no one was coming and said, "I'm making a mistake. William, please don't die. Not yet." She brought her head back down. He was clasping some of the soft and deep fur on her chest with a hand.

"So you realize?"

"This is wrong. Oh my god, this is wrong."

"What is your name?"

"You can call me Nemo."

"Nemo, you've already killed me. To force me to linger here would be cruel." He put a hand to his chest and had difficulty breathing. "Please, make the blow swift and quick."

"No, wait, there must be-"

"Nemo, great demon…you've already proven much to me. You are being merciful but at the same time you're not. You're being unkind. Please, send me away."

He was _asking_ her to kill him and even had a pleading look in his eyes. An act of euthanasia. She rose her other paw and closed his eyes. "I wasn't suppose to be the one to kill you. How'd I get stuck with this?"

"Please, just end this."

"I'm suppose to make it look as if I mauled you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…." She closed her eyes and hesitated before snapping her jaws around his neck, ripping off his arms and, angry at herself for what she just did, picked up his body and flung it into an adjacent wall where it splattered upon impact.

Nemo stood there on her hind legs with her eyes stuck on what was once a man just three seconds ago. She wasn't suppose to kill him, and now she realized why, but then she remembered that she was within a game and if she changed the course of it even more than she already did, things would be terribly wrong. But was he really suppose to die?

She must have stood there motionless for two minutes, just thinking with a strange feeling in her chest and gut, just staring as the soft ocean breeze ruffled her fur ever so slightly. That felt wrong, terribly wrong. He inadvertently said something that she would say.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as voices and shouts came into earshot. The other guards had seen the bloodshed and knew that the 'Hellhound' was out again.

In a brief moment of panic, she ran to the remains that were on the wall and grabbed whatever she could. She flung it around for a moment as she ran to get it into a sizable piece to swallow. Then she swallowed whatever it was.

She didn't want to run throughout the city. She jumped off of the fortress wall instead.

All of the men on top leaned over the edge and watched the wolf fall three hundred feet into the ocean below.

The water felt like concrete as she hit it, then it softened. It swept its salty self over her but it was thankfully gentle, for she surfaced without difficulty.

She took in a large breath of the air. The swells of water were large but she could swim through them. Normally she would turn into a human but that would mean throwing up the contents of her stomach, then it would be bye-bye token of proof.

It took her about an hour to reach the rocky shoreline, and when she did, the first she did was lie down on a large slab of rock. The blood had been washed off of her but she was exhausted from the swimming. Fighting the tiredness, she shakily stood up on all fours and climbed the rocks.

* * *

Just as Altair began to wonder where Nemo went, she jumped down from overhead, panting and soaking wet. He looked at her quizzically. "You're wet."

"No shit, Sherlock. I took a different route." She trotted past him to the rafiq, who was working on something and only looked up to greet her. "I did not hear the bells go off."

"He's dead."

He gave her a look that said 'prove it.'

She brow furrowed and said, "This is going to be monstrously disturbing and grotesque." She made a coughing sound and tightened her stomach, bringing her neck slightly into her body. After a moment of struggling (and after Altair entered the room) she retched up whatever was in her stomach. And, lo and behold, was half of a bloody human spine with all of the muscles still attached to it and keeping the individual vertebrae connected.

A spine. Not an arm. A spine.

The rafiq almost vomited and Altair had to turn around and walk away. Altair's good with gore and blood and guts, but seeing _that_ was a bit too much. His walking away definitely said something. "Oh. Oh dear, that was unexpected. I did…how did I…? Whoops."

"I believe you, Nemo." The rafiq turned back around and avoided looking at the bones. "I see that you have done well keeping Acre from his hands."

"I wasn't suppose to kill him. The things he said…god, he was just like me! He wasn't planning on taking Acre over. It was all a misunderstanding. It was all a mistake, all a huge, horrible mistake. And now I killed him!"

"What is it, exactly, that he said to you?"

"Al Mualim was wrong. William didn't have to die. Altair and I thought that he was going to murder Richard and take over Acre for Conrad, but that was completely wrong. He was going to start a democracy, not a monarchy or a dictatorship. He was planning something else, but I-"

"Nemo, you cannot trust the words of a snake, which even in death produces venom. He was trying to poison you, trying to take over your mind. Maybe he saw that you were powerful and lusted for your might, or maybe he was just being a coward and was trying to save his life and cheat death."

"No, no, that's not right." She looked at Altair who had reentered the room. "You gotta…I mean, he just…Conrad wasn't…we were wrong, that's what I'm saying. Now he's dead, alright? I killed him for the wrong reason! I-" She stopped mid-sentence. She looked down a her paw and saw that she was standing in a pool of blood from the gory scene she spit out. She went silent. "I'm sorry. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm wrong." She padded away and didn't look at Altair. "I need to think."

* * *

Altair sat beside the wolf, whom was staring at the water of the fountain. "You did the right thing," he said. "You did it well."

"I may be related to a dog, but I don't expect praise. Thank you, though. I'm just confused. I don't know what's going on. What you and I thought were wrong, but at the same time I don't know what to make of it." She snarled a bit and slammed her paw into the ground. "God dammit! I'm going to have a word with Al Mualim."

"You can do as you wish."

"How's you arm doing?"

_She must want to take her mind off the subject._ "Better, in fact. I thought it'd be much worse."

"Good." She licked him on the side of the face. "I don't want to ever have to do something like that again."

"I couldn't and Al Mualim knows of your abilities, it makes sense why he would ask you to do something like that."

"Order, not ask."

"Either way, this land is better with William's death."

"I don't know. I just don't know."

* * *

**O_O That was disturbingly gory. It was disturbing for ME to write.**

**PLEASE DON'T HATE ME. I'm NEVER having Nemo do another mission for him ever again, she'll never be an assassin, and she'll NEVER assassinate Altair's target again and I'll NEVER have Al Mualim tell her to do so and I'll NEVER have her do Altair's job ever again. I think that I just needed something interesting to do o.O Since the game is somewhat repetitive, I don't want my fanfic to be repetitive, so I obviously mix things up. I feel like people are going to hate me v_v**

**OH MY GOSH I REPEATED SOME WORDS WAY TOO MANY TIMES. I said 'grotesque' like…three times! And this seems rather choppy. I'm quite dissatisfied with myself. Some parts in it seem cliché; "He looked at her yellow eyes and gave a weird smile**." **I mean, c'mon, seriously? I'm better than that! I'm going to go crawl into a corner -_-,**

**On another note, on the part that says the ocean was grayish because the sky was cloudy, that's because water's only blue because it's reflected the color of the sky; water is actually clear. So, if it's a cloudy day, the water will be a darker color, and if it's a clear and sunny, it'll be a nice blue. Least that's what I learned in science class, but I just thought that I would clear up a bit of confusion.**

**Oh yeah, and Sly Cooper is another video game character. He's a thief and pickpockets people all the time XP The kleptomaniac….**


	17. Knock Him off the Pedestal

**I'm sorry that it took so long to update. I was going through this whole story and making some minor changes to it, i.e. grammar and spellings typos, but it's nothing too big. Plus I'm also working on another story of mine that I've abandoned for this one, so now I'm working on two at once and I have five books that I need to read and I can now play Left 4 Dead and Sims 3, but I'm never going to abandon this story. It's too much fun to give up on :)**

**I love the argument Altair has with Al Mualim. "I **_**demand**_** you tell me!" XD Altair's so awesome.**

* * *

On the day that they left, it was obviously cloudy but thankfully not raining. Seema and Fath asked 'what the heck happened' because people on both the inside and the outside of the city had been panicking the previous day and were all in a ruckus. Nemo-being the only one to hear them-ignored them and put the saddle on Fath. Altair, having more experience with such things, got his on quicker and was already on Seema before Nemo was set.

Nemo hadn't spoken much. She was still thinking about William and the fact that he may have just been attempting to trick her, and may have succeeded. But it seemed as if he was telling the truth; the manners in which he acted it and the ways how he spoke it made that somewhat incontrovertible if he weren't convicted of the crimes he may have committed. Sure, he took their food and money and didn't even show mercy as far as Altair and Nemo could see, as well as the rafiq, but William truly meant good. But since he had been doing such strange and even, at times, outlandish things, it only added to one more question; what were the Templars planning? They've been plotting, thinking, training, but mostly in secret. William mentioned preparing the people for 'the new world,' which was definitely something that involved the Templars. He was a Templar, that's the only palpable and indubitable thing about him and perhaps the only virtuous thing about his death. The rest was just an abysmal mystery with fathoms so deep that nothing could be seen and there was no hope in gaining any amount of light. Slightly anger-inducing, but it's true.

Altair looked at his white stallion. He'd had her for fourteen years, ever since he was six years old. She was originally another assassin's horse but the assassin had some unexpected visitors one night during a mission and ultimately wound up getting killed. That was when they started training Altair to ride a horse. Seema was getting old; twenty-five years. He had no clue how much longer she would be around, especially considering all of the traveling he did with her. She wasn't just another horse or another animal, she was a loyal and faithful friend, and now she was elderly. It was sad, actually.

* * *

"Come in, you two," Al Mualim said and motioned for a man dressed in black robes to leave. He was holding the utterly featureless silver sphere that he watched over so carefully that it could have been deemed as obsession. Nemo was scared as hell when she saw it but Altair was thinking why it was so important to his master. "You have been very successful, Altair. You as well, Nemo, therefore I commend you both. The fact that you could successfully assassinate a man is very positive. This land will be much better now that William of Montferrat is gone."

"Yeah, can you please put that thing away?" She said rather loudly and was standing closely behind Altair, unable to take her eyes off of the silver sphere. Her nervousness and stress just skyrocketed higher than the Empire State Building.

"I will not hurt you with this, Nemo," Al Mualim said and motioned to the sphere with his free hand. "Why would I?"

"Look, I know you wouldn't but I can't concentrate with that thing around. I hate silver."

Al Mualim smiled and placed it inside of one of his pockets on his black robes. "It is quite alright, my friend."

She calmed herself down and took a step away from Altair.

"On a different note, I will have news of your progress, Altair." He turned his gaze to his ex-apprentice.

"We've done as you've asked."

"Good, good. I sense your thoughts are elsewhere. Speak your mind."

"Each man I'm sent to kill speaks cryptic words to me. Each time I come to you and ask for answers. Each time you give only riddles in exchange, but no more."

"Who are you to say 'no more?'" Al Mualim's mood turned to a negative one.

_Ah great, this is when they have the argument. I'm going to slowly back away._ Nemo followed what she thought and began to take a few steps away from the two.

"Nemo and I are the ones who do the killing. If you want it to continue, you'll speak straight with me for once."

"Pick carefully, boy." Al Mualim said in a warning tone. "I do not like your tone."

"And I do not like your deception!"

"I have offered you a chance to restore your lost honor-"

"Not lost; _taken_, by _you_! And then you sent me to fetch it again like some damn dog."

Al Mualim grabbed hold of his sword that was lying on his desk and appeared to threaten Altair with it, even though they were both a good twenty paces away. "It seems I will need to find another! A shame; you showed great potential."

"I think if you'd had another you'd have sent him long ago. You said the answer to my question will arise when I no longer need to ask it, so I will not ask; I _demand_ you tell me what binds these men!"

Al Mualim relaxed and put the word back down, deeming it unnecessary. He grumbled, then said, "What you say is true. These men are connected, by a blood much unlike your own."

"Who are they?"

"_Non nobis, Domine, non nobis._"

"Templars."

"Wait…what'd he say?" Nemo asked, but was ignored.

"Now you see the true reach of Robert de Sable."

"All these men, leaders of cities, commanders of armies…"

"All pledge an allegiance to this cause."

"Their works are not meant to be viewed on their own, are they? But as a whole…. What do they desire?"

"Conquest. They seek the Holy Land not in the name of God, but for themselves."

"What of Richard? And Saladin?"

"Many who oppose the Templars will be destroyed. We must make sure they don't have the means to accomplish it."

"Then they must be stopped."

"That is why we do our work, Altair. To ensure a future free of such things."

"Why did you hide the truth from me…us?"

"That you might pierce the veil yourselves. Like any task, knowledge precedes action; information learned if more valuable than information given. Besides, your recent behavior has inspired much confidence…"

"I see."

"Altair, your mission has not changed. Given the context in which you perceive it…"

"And armed with this knowledge I might better understand those Templars that remain."

"Is there anything else you want to know?"

"What about the treasure Malik retrieved from Solomon's Temple? Robert seemed desperate to have it back."

"In time, Altair, all will become clear, just as the role of the Templars has revealed itself to you, so too will be the nature of the treasure. Now, take comfort in the fact that it is not their hands, but _ours_."

"If this is your desire."

"It is. You are restored another rank. Take back your weapon; use it to bring honor to the Brotherhood." He started to turn around, but then stopped himself, saying, "Altair, before you go…?"

"Yes?"

"How did you know I wouldn't kill you?"

"Truth be told, Master, I didn't. I took a leap of faith."

There was a small smile on the old man's face as he turned around and gazed out of the window, surveying the landscape as he commonly does.

As they both started to walk away, Nemo commented, "That's the first time I've ever seen you argue before." When she was sitting downstairs in her basement, playing the game, Altair went up a good three notches on her 'scale of awesomeness' after the argument. In real life it felt much different. Though he had every right to that knowledge and he had become frustrated at Al Mualim's secretiveness, it was the equivalent to watching two parents fight with each other.

Altair said nothing in reply and looked down at the ground.

* * *

While he walked alone down the hallway Altair was left to think to himself. He found his drifting thoughts falling back on Al Mualim and the Templar Treasure he held dear to himself. He contemplated why it was so damn important, but he figured that whatever it was it was a very personal thing and probably none of his business. His thoughts distracted him and his feet subconsciously lead him back to his room.

Realizing that it was worthless on thinking about such a thing, he started reciting the names of the prominent people he had assassinated in the past couple months. Tamir, Garnier de Naplouse, Talal, Abu'l Nuqoud, and recently William de Montferrat. Majd Addin will be the next. His strange imagination lead him back down a different course of thoughts and he tried to imagine the man as a child even though he's never seen him before. _Everyone is a child at one point, and at that point in their lives they are the most innocent, _Altair thought. What went wrong with this man? And the others? What happened to that innocence? They were all born, brought up and raised, and then something happened, but what had happened could have easily be anything. Perhaps they were denied something. Perhaps they took a wrong road in life. Perhaps they were seeking for something that they could not find.

It was strange, thinking of those men like that, imagining them as mere children running around carelessly. It's almost as if something like that couldn't have happened, but they were all, at one point or another, young and innocent. He was reminded that he was at one point in his life young and innocent, but now older and damned to the lowest plane of hell. He wondered if he really would go to a place like Hell. He hoped he didn't-for obvious reasons-but when he's dead, he figured that he deserved it. Even if the men he kill are evil and ill-natured, the ones that he kill because he's defending himself could be happy, good-natured men with loving families that will mourn over their deaths for the rest of their lives. It gave him a sinking feeling for a brief moment, but once he realized it, he brushed it aside and decided to ignore it. He felt that one day he was going to pay an ultimate price for what he does.

He sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands as he contemplated about what might happen to him after death. Eternal suffering? Temporary suffering? Reincarnation? Oblivion, to disappear as if he never existed? What if nothing at all? He was beginning to question faith; was it really worth all what people make it worth? If everyone is wrong then no one can expect anything, maybe other than a surprise. It was saddening to some strange extent and he hated thinking about it, but thankfully Nemo arrived as a wolf to jar him from his thoughts.

She padded into the room and said, _"Bonjour, mon ami. _I see you beat me back to the room." She dropped her clothes in the corner of the room and jumped up on the bed with him. He smiled and scratched her underneath the jaw for a brief moment. "You alright? You seem upset."

"I was just thinking about some things, that's all. Don't worry."

She let out a small dog whimper and put her dead down low for a moment. She obviously wanted to be rubbed.

* * *

The ride to Jerusalem took about three days and they arrived right as the sun was setting, so there was no time to discover things about the target. Nemo remembered the executioner and remembered being nervous in front of the television screen. She's nervous whenever she watches a movie and there's an execution scene, but the one in Assassins Creed was a little bit different. And creepy.

All the merchants of the city were setting down their shops for the night and were preparing to get home while a few stayed open later than the others in the hopes of attracting a few more last-minute costumers. People made straight beelines for their homes, looking forward to having dinner with their families before retiring until the morning. The city was a warm golden-orange hue thanks to dusk and painted the buildings a mixture of different colors. A few children ran around for a day's last game of tag before being called back home by their mothers.

Altair strolled into the Assassins Bureau and said, "Safety and peace, Malik."

"Word that the city was possessed of either," Malik replied as he looked up from his map. He gaze shifted to Nemo and smiled, saying, "Although _she_ brings such comforts. How have you been?"

Nemo could hardly contain her laughter at the fact that he was purposely acting nice to her while he still proved that he hated Altair's guts. "Still good. You?"

"I suppose I've been well, though I've fallen behind on my schedule for the maps. Either way, it is good that you are well. Anyway, why do you trouble me today, Altair?"

"Al Mualim has marked Majd Addin for death. What can you tell me about him?"

"Saladin's absence has left the city without a proper leader, and Majd Addin has pointed himself to play the part."

"Can't imagine people were happy with that." Nemo said as she crossed her arms.

"They were not content at all, Nemo. Fear and intimidation get him what he wants. He has no true claim to the position."

"Let's knock him off the pedestal, then."

"That will end soon," Altair put in.

"You speak as if you are too ready." Malik looked up from where he was to Altair. "This is not some slaver we're discussing," he glanced over at Nemo with a small amount of concern. "He rules Jerusalem because he believes himself higher than others; I suggest you plan your mission carefully, get to better know your play."

"With your help, I will. Where would you have us begin our search?"

"What is this? You are actually asking for my assistance instead of demanding it. I'm impressed."

"Be out with it," Altair said, obviously loosing his patience, yet managing to keep his voice calm and monotone.

"As you wish," Malik said and dipped his quill to wet it with ink. "Southwest near the mosque sounds promising, then after that head south of here; there are two locations that might interest you. The southernmost church is one, the others in the streets, near the senegog."

"Thank you for your help, Malik."

"Don't foul this, Altair." Malik looked back down to his map and examined it carefully.

Without much else to do for the rest of the day-and now that it was getting rather dark-Altair lit a few candles around the building and began to clean his weapons carefully, including scrapping out the small bits of blood that had dried in the crevices of his blades. Malik began to make a dinner that consisted of couscous and what Nemo guessed to be either pork or goat. She decided to assist him without having anything better to do. The man needed a little help, anyway; he was still trying to get accustomed to living with one arm. Then she began to wonder if he was lonely. With the loss of his brother, who had probably lived with him, and without many other visitors, Malik most likely lived a rather lonesome life. He's a good man, though.

Nemo lifted the rice and poured all the contents of the basket into the large pot filled with boiling water. "What exactly is this rice, again? Kookoo, or something?"

Malik laughed. "_Couscous_, and it's not a rice. It's actually small bread-like pieces."

"Still looks like rice." She set the now-empty basket back down on the ground and let Malik do the rest. She didn't want to ask him if he needed help; that might actually insult him. He's still just as capable at everything else and he believed strongly in that. She wouldn't want him to think that she thought him disabled. "You know, I never really cooked much."

"I take it that's a bad thing."

"Only slightly," she stoked the small fire underneath the pot a bit while Malik stirred the rice. "I would make cakes and cupcakes and I one time made a wedding cake…sort of…but it wasn't the really expensive kind where it's a hundred and twenty dollars for a sliver. I was just experimenting. Then I ran out of frosting and one piece of it got messed up so half of it was unfrosted and flat."

Malik chuckled a bit. "I am guessing that those are delicacies where you are from?"

"Common ones, no doubt, but yes, they are. I tried making a gluten-free cake and it was flat as a pancake. Wasn't suppose to be like that." She stood back up.

"Couscous is a common food here, definitely no delicacy." He set the ladle down and let the couscous sit for a while. "My brother and I used to cook meals together very often before he passed away. He always enjoyed cooking, but I always thought it weird until he got me interested in it."

"That kind of happened to me, too." She fiddled with a spoon and balanced it on her index finger.

After a moment, Malik said, "I miss him. Kadar, I mean."

She didn't really want to get into a touchy-emotional thing at the moment because she is an utter sap when it comes to stories like that, but she figured there was no way of getting out of it. "Well…you still talk to him, right? I'm sure he hears you. And this, too. Probably laughing that you're talking all depressed-like."

"I want to believe that you are right, and maybe you are, but I've been quite alone. I have good relations with others, but they cannot visit often. It is nice to be able to talk to you."

"I'm sensing that you've wanted to get that off your chest for a while now."

"I have been. I'm glad that I've finally managed to tell someone."

After a moment, the couscous and the meat finished cooking and Nemo set the table. "Hey Powder Pants, dinner's ready." She called to Altair and noticed Malik laughing slightly.

"Is that his official nickname?"

"I suppose. I've been calling him that on and off since we met." She sat in a chair as Altair joined them and, while the two men clasped their hands and said something in Arabic, she locked her fingers together and mumbled gibberish to make it sound as if she knew what she was saying. Malik caught onto the trick and smiled in amusement while Altair grinned ever so slightly. Then she got odd looks from both of them. "What? I don't speak Arabic."

"So you'll mumble nonsense instead?"

"Yes." She stabbed a piece of the meat that resembled sirloins and placed it on her plate.

Tomorrow Altair and Nemo would have to find out about this egotistical man and hopefully put him six feet beneath the ground. Altair just hoped that he didn't have guards going about the city purging for assassins.

* * *

**Alright, this story was as bouncy as a hyperactive chinchilla. I had Writer's Blank for a long time and I found myself delaying the story time and time again by playing video games or doing something else just so that I could forget that I was a rock in a hard place as far as authors go.**

**It was a bad method.**

**Anyway, here's probably the shortest chapter I've yet to write for this story. It has about 3,500 words and was only a little over nine pages.**

**I thought that I would make Malik talk quite a bit because…quite frankly…I really like Malik and I feel bad for him, and in the game, Malik probably is rather lonely, so I thought that I would put that into words. There's no Nemo/Malik. In fact, HELL NO. Malik just doesn't have too many people to talk with, and he thinks that Nemo is rather sweet and knows that she'll listen. And Altair obviously isn't an option for him.**

**Again, sorry about that delayed and rather choppy chapter ^^,**


	18. Down He Goes

**I've really been slacking on this story O.o I gotta fix that.**

* * *

Altair descended the ladder from the Assassins Bureau and, once his feet were on the ground, regarded the throngs of people in the busy Jerusalem morning. Today is going to be a long day, He thought. Nemo said 'bye' and parted from him disguised as a wolf, trotting away and disappearing into the rivers of moving people. He figured that she would be fine if she were on her own.

After a moment, he walked casually into the crowds with a low profile. He kept his eye out for anyone suspicious-looking, but an hour later he remained empty-handed. He turned down into an alleyway as a shortcut to a nearby plaza and stopped in his tracks when he heard distant screaming. He turned his head in the direction and realized that it was a woman's voice, obviously in distress.

He jogged down the alleyway and saw a young woman who was probably no older than eighteen being wrestled to the ground by four soldiers. She was screaming and kicking and flailing, but the guards were beating her and, by the looks of it, were also trying to cut her dress off. After a few more seconds of attacking the woman, they ripped off her outfit and threw her into a wall. They pinned her to it, whispering something in her ear while she cried and yelled for help. She saw Altair and he saw that her face was streaming with tears and was smeared with blood, scraped and cut so deep in some areas that it went down to the bone.

Altair unsheathed his sword and approached them, saying, _"Wayhak."_

Two of them turned their attention to him and said, "You have no business here. _Leave_."

"_Eghrib an wejhy."_

They threw the woman aside into a puddle and took out their swords. Four corrupted soldiers, who were most likely overconfident and only had rudimentary fighting skills, against one highly trained assassin would be easy for Altair. The first man charged at him with his sword held up high and easily showed where he was going to strike. Altair swiped the soldier's sword out of his hand and thrust his own forward through the man's stomach. He let out a yelp of surprise before collapsing to the ground.

The assassin turned his attention to the next man who also ran at him. He wheeled around and blocked the attack, being forced back about a meter or so. When the soldier yelled and swiped his sword at Altair's head, the assassin ducked and knocked the man's feet from under himself. He fell and Altair slit his jugular with the tip of his sword. He turned around and dodged another attack, then rammed himself into the next and listened to a sickening crack as he broke the man's left leg, the joint going in a direction that nature said it wasn't suppose to. The force made his opponent flip and tumble to the ground. The last soldier standing began to flee, but Altair caught up to him after sheathing his sword and jumped on his back, tackling him to the ground. He plunged his hidden blade into the back of his opponent's neck and felt him go limp.

He stood up and saw that the soldier with the broken leg was still alive. Altair nonchalantly walked over to him and noted his terrified expression. He was going to die from that injury and once the fear wore off, the actual pain would be recognized and he would be in agony. It would be cruel to leave him like that.

With that idea in mind, he knelt beside him and extended his hidden blade. His enemy started to mutter out a plea to let him live, but Altair used his right arm to bring him into a semi-hug. He pressed the man's head into the connection of his neck and shoulder to muffle the scream he emitted when he slid the blade into his heart. The soldier went flaccid and Altair gently lowered him to the ground.

He turned his attention to the woman who was currently on the ground, her back pressed against the wall of a parapet. Altair eyed her torn dress and picked it up. He got down on his knees to her and wiped off some of the blood on her face. They were just cuts and scrapes and she would be fine.

"Stranger, whoever you are…"-she choked on her words for a moment-"…I am indebted to you. Thank you."

He gave her dress back to her and figured that she could manage on her own. He stood up and began to leave her.

"Wait! Can I have your name?"

Altair continued walking away and disappeared once he rounded the corner of a building.

* * *

Nemo had been following the same man for the last thirty friggin' minutes all in the hopes that he would go into a secluded part of town. She was surprised that he hadn't noticed that he had a dog following him despite the numerous times he turned around.

Finally he turned into an abandoned street and nobody was in sight. Nemo picked up her pace and jumped on him from behind. He let out a shriek of surprise as he hit the ground, only to be picked up again and slammed into a wall. He was punched thrice in he stomach and was rammed into the ground again, dirt and mud blocking his vision as he was dragged. After a moment he felt himself go airborne and quickly discovered that he was on the roof of a building. Nemo flipped him over onto his back and stood on top of him. "You sound as if you know quite a bit about Majd Addin. You close to him?"

He didn't respond, but instead just stared at her with wide-eyed horror.

"C'mon, you didn't expect me? Tell me what you know about him."

"Alright, great Hellhound. I'm still breathing…" he paused for a moment as if to ensure himself that he was still alive. "I do know him better than most."

"He sounds too righteous. Is the law really that important?"

"What do you think?"

"He's not, he has a secret, you'll tell me what it is." She applied more pressure on his chest.

"It's a veil; all of it. Men like me…we are meant to scare, to fill the people with fear. The ones he kills…not criminals, but dangerous all the way, such as you are to all living things."

She brushed aside the last comment. "And who exactly would they be dangerous to? Himself?"

"No, his plans; their plans. Yes, he speaks of others because he works with them. Works _for_ them, perhaps. I am uncertain; they need the city, though. Controlling it is important to them."

"Why? Are they just trigger-happy morons with a yearning for power?"

"I do not know. You'll have to ask him yourself. Attend one of his executions; it's when he's most talkative, addressing the crowd, hands covered in blood, much like your claws after your bloodlust is filled. I can imagine you standing there, smiling and laughing, with your fur covered in blood, your voice mocking the slain men and women whom were cut down by your claws. You-"

Nemo swiped his head off with her massive paw and said, "I don't mock. Mocking is for wimps. Rest in peace. This wasn't your fault." She jumped off from over the side and thought to herself, Okay, I'll tell Altair that he needs to attend an execution."

Just as she willed her body to be smaller, she heard two men talking to each other in a rather worried tone. One of them was an older man and was apparently freaking out in some matter as the younger man informed him about something. She walked closer to them and listened.

"I am sorry," the younger man said. "We tried everything we could."

"But what of my son? What about him? What will they do to him?"

"He is sentenced for death. Majd Addin will carry out the execution."

There was a visage of horror on the father's face. "We must stop this! We must save my son!"

"_Shh_, the guards mustn't hear us."

"When's the execution?"

"Tonight. I am sorry, my friend, but going after him is suicide. He's too powerful."

"What if he were _your_ son? Oh God, please no, please! This can't be happening…we _must_ stop him!"

After a moment, the younger man sighed and said, "Alright. I do not wish to be a hypocrite. We must plan accordingly."

Nemo swiveled her ears around to the back of her head and thought for a moment.

* * *

Altair spotted Nemo from a distance and quickly walked to her. He sat on a nearby bench as she trotted beside him. It was the best low profile move he could do at the moment to ensure that nobody else would see him conversing with the creature. "A few scholars will be attending an execution tonight and I can blend with them," Altair said. "Majd Addin also turns his back to the crowd, which leaves him open for an attack."

"Like how you basically said, there's an execution tonight but there are going to be a lot of guards. He's a power-hungry idiot, but expect something interesting to happen to prove his 'evilness.' There's a man who's son is going to be executed. He's going to try to save him alongside his friend. My guess is that he'll fail and there will be a distraction."

Altair eyed a group of passing soldiers and brought his head down slightly lower. "We should scout the execution plaza."

"What if it's being set up right now?"

"Then we'll remain out of sight. I'm rather positive that we have a couple hours to spare."

"Then time is of the essence. Let's get going."

After the soldiers passed, Altair stood up and took the lead.

They reached the plaza by rooftop. Altair was perched on a wooden beam high above the ground and was surveying the area carefully. A wooden stage was being prepared along with four longs poles attached to it that were no doubt meant for tying the victims to. It was, overall, a medium-sized square area of land that was big enough to hold probably three to four hundred people at one time, maybe more.

Altair could guess where the guards would be; behind the stage, off to the sides, in front of it, a few near the streets, and most likely a couple archers for added measures in case something seriously got out of hand. The odds of that happening were highly doubtful, but it's always better to be precautionary.

Altair stood up straight and jumped back to Nemo on the rooftop. "We should get back to Malik. We'll just be wasting time standing here."

"More like crouching," the wolf said and turned around.

* * *

As expected, the slender man was working on a map of his and only looked up to greet the two and say, "What news, novice?"

"I am not a novice," Altair retorted back calmly.

"A man's skill is defined by his actions," Malik said and stood up straight, "not the markings on his robe."

"We can trade barbs or do Al Mualim's work. It's your decision."

"Then be _out_ with it." Malik said in an exasperated tone.

"Jerusalem's 'regent,' Majd Addin, is holding a public execution not far from here. According to Nemo, it'll be well-guarded but it's nothing I can't handle. I know what to do."

"And that is why you remain a novice in my eyes. You cannot _know_ anything, only suspect. You must expect to be wrong, to have overlooked something; it decimates, Altair. How many times must I remind you of this?"

"As you wish. Are we done?"

"_Not quite_. There is one more thing. One of the men to be executed is a brother…one of _us_. Al Mualim wishes for him to be saved. Nemo, I am going to ask you to rescue him while Altair performs the assassination. At least ensure that Majd Addin does not take his life."

"We won't give him the chance," Altair said with a rather stern look on his face.

"I can only believe that because Nemo will be there." Malik reached down and grabbed an eagle feather. Altair took it and place inside a pouch. The assassin wordlessly walked away and, once he was out of sight, Nemo padded over to Malik and put her paws on the counter so that she could stand on her hind legs and be eye-to-eye with him.

"Look, I know that sometimes he's an ass, and everything that you said _is_ true, but might you not bicker with him so often?"

Malik was silent for a while before he sighed. "Do you know what he did? To me? To Masyaf? To everyone?"

"Yes. He told me."

"Do you understand, though?"

"I don't know. I've never lost anyone that important to me."

"Then you are a lucky wolf, my friend." He put his quill down and took out a measuring device of some sort, most likely to double-check that he drew a building the correct distance away from the adjacent ones.

"That'd be ironic if told you that I see a building that's three millimeters off."

For a moment, she could sense panic from him, but then he looked at her and smiled. "If I _truly_ did-"

"Then I wouldn't point it out. You really think I'd know something like that, or be that mean?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe you'd be evil and toy with me."

"Nah, I save that for Alty."

"You're very witty, aren't you?"

"You have no idea. I'm surprised Altair doesn't have Stockholm Syndrome by now."

"Doesn't have what?"

"Never mind." She bared her front teeth as a form of a smile and trotted back to Altair.

* * *

Nemo was so nervous that she felt like she was going to hurl her guts up. Again, it wasn't exactly according to the game. Nemo was going to distract everyone with a 'special showing,' but it was going to be a peaceful one, such as not ripping people to pieces like a paper shredder. While she'd be talking to the crowd, Altair would make his way towards the stage and closer to Majd Addin. It wasn't flawless or foolproof, but it gave Altair much more time than necessary and gave him the upper edge in battle. The unskilled and virtually worthless guards wouldn't notice anything, save for the fact that they'd think anyone would soon have their head in the jaws of the gigantic wolf.

Altair glanced at Nemo before entering the plaza, giving her the cue to get to the rooftops. She followed as planned and kept her eyes on him, waiting for him to glance at her again to carry out the next set of orders.

Just as he predicted, the plaza was thronged with by people. He picked his way carefully through everyone to get into the middle, where he would be less noticeable. He could see the other assassin and recognized him to be Qudamah; they had trained together at the same time, though Altair graduated from being a novice faster than him. Next to him was a young man, whom Altair suspected to be the son of the father Nemo had mentioned. Beside him was another older-looking man dressed in grey robes and beside him a woman with a face full of terror. She was strong, Altair thought, for she was not crying and remained firm where she was.

The crowd began cheering loudly as Majd Addin appeared from the back of the stage, raising his arms up high for emphasis. He was a big man, with a huge head and a large black beard. He was wearing blue robes and had a white sultan headpiece wrapped around his head.

"Your devotion pleases me," Majd said and motioned for the crowd to quiet down. "This evil must be purged, only then can we hope to be redeemed." He apparently liked to speak slowly, which immediately gave Altair the thought that they would be standing for a long time. His attention was averted by another man's voice.

"This is not justice!" Everyone turned in the two's direction. "All of you stand idle, complaisant in his crime."

"God curse you all!"

The two men-obviously the two Nemo spoke about-ran towards the stage, but one of the guards unsheathed his sword and killed one of them. There was a loud gasp of surprise from the crowd and the other man quickly realized that what he was doing was a mistake. He turned around and began to flee but another guard caught him and sliced his throat. Several people screamed but then quieted themselves down.

Damn, that was one of the distraction to get me closer, Altair thought. After looking around for a moment, he started to push his way through the shocked people to get to the sidelines.

"See how the evil of one man spreads to corrupt others?" Majd yelled. "They sought to instill fear and doubt within you. But I will keep you safe!" The crowd became more rambunctious with delight at his words.

Nemo saw Qudamah look up at her. She stared back at him and he lowered his gaze. He now knew that he was being rescued but he kept a solid and firm look on his face. He wouldn't want to give away her presence.

"Here now, the four filled with sin!" Majd turned his back to the crowd for a moment to address the four tied to the poles. "The harlot, the thief, the gambler, the _heretic_. Let God's judgment be brought down upon the law!"

Altair turned around and glanced at Nemo.

"_Stop!"_ Nemo yelled. Everyone went quiet and looked in her direction. She jumped down from where she was and soundlessly landed on the cobblestone ground. People parted a path for her to walk, for none of them wanted to be even remotely close to her. "I don't wish to kill anybody today. Like what that man said, this is not justice." She looked in Altair's direction and saw that he was moving towards the stage.

"This, my good people, is what is born of evil! This hellhound is the spawn of the devil! It is here to wreak terror in our hearts, to even rip our-"

"Souls from your bodies?" Nemo said in a matter-of-fact voice. Majd looked surprised that she said exactly what he was going to voice. "What is _wrong_ with you people? How can you just stand around like this and watch other human beings get slaughtered? Stand up! Fight! Why don't any of you realize how wrong this is? Think of it; what if that poor woman off to the right…the 'harlot'…was your wife, or your daughter, or you friend? What if those three men were your brothers? Would you _really_ just stand around and do nothing? You know what, put down the bag of potato chips and get up. Rise as a mass. Majd Addin does no good in this." She noticed how no one looked afraid anymore. Her words were working well. "You all think I'm a hellhound from Hell. Haven't any of you even considered that I'm here to tell all of you to just accept one another? Look at you. You let wars rage and have this sick and twisted idea that war has glory. You're wrong."

"Demon!" Majd Addin yelled. "Do not listen to it! It is planting seeds of lies!"

"It's the truth. Everyone, look at me. What do children see? A big fluffy dog with deep fur for them to play and laugh with. What do _you_ see? Some giant monster with a bloodlust. You're only scared of me because you simply don't understand me. You don't have to fear me. What everyone in this world wants is to feel secure, be at peace, and to be happy. How can you gain happiness like this? How can you let this continue? Would God want this? She'd want you to save someone, not kill them." Now she was beginning to run out of ideas. Her speeches were never too big and never last as long as she'd hankered them to, so now she was forced to improvise. "Please, right now my intention is peace." She began to pace back and forth to buy herself and Altair time. "Listen, Majd. If you let these four go, then I'll leave you alone as well as the entire city. Show that you actually _care_ about them and that you actually want to _protect_ them."

"Insolent demon! Look at it, everybody! It is overflowing with sin! Even this blood-thirsty nymphomaniac can enter your minds and-"

"I'm a virgin. As weird as this will sound, sex isn't something I desire. Sure, I bet it's fun, but that's off the topic. I'm not here to poison you. I'm here to open your minds and your eyes in the hopes that you'll _see_." She paused for a long moment to regard the crowd. Where the hell did Altair go? Is he really that good at getting out of sight? "I hope that you'll see that no matter where you are…no matter _who_ you are…people are still people. People from China are still human, people from Arabia are still human, people from America are still human, and people from Finland are still human. Don't be afraid of one another. You don't need to kill each other. Nothing is worth having a war over, because life is one of the most precious things in the universes, and once it's gone, you can't get it back. Murdering each other solves nothing. Just accept who everyone else is, and if they're bad, change tha-"

"DIE, INFIDEL!" A soldier from the rooftops yelled.

Nemo looked up and saw a soldier chasing after where Altair must have been. Since when was he on the rooftops?

Nemo grumbled. "Alty….Everyone here in the plaza should run. Like…_now_." When no one moved, she yelled, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE NOW BEFORE YOU FIND YOURSELF FLOATING ON A CLOUD!" Everyone suddenly ran once she bared her teeth and started snapping. "OUT OF THE WAY, I'LL SHOVE YOU DOWN MY THROAT IF YOU DON'T FLEE!" She urged everyone to get out as quickly as possible. "Don't worry, assassin, I'm coming for you." She started clouting and plowing people out of the way. She didn't pay attention to Majd as he began to flee from the scene.

"Hey, you alright?" Nemo said as she cut the ropes restricting the assassin's hands.

"You came here to save me."

"Another assassin is already here, but he's heading after Majd Addin." She slid away from him and freed the other three, all of which were terror-stricken. She ran back to the assassin and said, "Get back to Malik and _stay sharp_, the entire city's on high alert."

"I can't; when they captured me, my leg was broken in the process. That's why I've been leaning on my right."

Nemo threw him onto her back and told him to hang on.

* * *

Majd Addin was much faster than anticipated. Altair's lungs were burning from having to run so fast and for so far, but he figured that was positive. Majd Addin would slow down and tire so he would be easier to defeat in battle.

As soon as he rounded a corner, Majd Addin was standing not too far away with his sword drawn, panting heavily from the strain on his body. Altair unsheathed his weapon and they circled each other for a moment. "So you're the demon-tamer, are you not?" Majd said through breaths.

"No, I'm not." Altair replied.

The two stood for a long time before Majd took the first swing. The man was much stronger than he appeared and nearly swiped Altair's sword from his hand, but he blocked the attack and pushed Majd into a stack of crates. He recovered quickly and diverted Altair's blow, then punched his opponent in the jaw to stun him. The assassin gathered himself fast enough to block all of Majd's next set of blows.

His target grabbed onto him and, much to Altair's surprise, lifted him off of the ground. Majd did a strange battle-cry as he threw Altair onto the ground.

Altair felt the breath from his lungs exit in one loud _whoosh_ and right before Majd cut his head off, he rolled off to the side and scrambled to his feet. As soon as Majd swung his sword again, Altair used his bracers to avoid himself from getting slashed, quickly grabbing onto the hilt of the sword. He kneed Majd and he let go of the weapon but was quick to swipe it out of Altair's grasp while the assassin was at his weakest.

Altair punched the power-hungry man on the side of the head and had himself hit squarely in the gut. They wrestled each other to the ground and Altair kicked the sword out of Majd's reach. At the same time, Majd was restraining Altair's wrists and was pinning him to the ground, straddling on top of him to restrict his movement with his weight. "I win, assassin," said Majd as he leaned closer to Altair. "That's too bad; your dog can't come and save you."

"If she arrives, she'll gut you for this," Altair said, then used his legs to flip Majd off of him, doing a backwards summersault as he executed so. He ran up a wall and kicked off to land on the adjacent building's balcony, then hauled himself up. Majd was close behind and as soon as he started climbing a nearby ladder, Altair kicked it and Majd fell to the ground. In the midst of his enemy standing up, Altair jumped off from the balcony and landed on top of him, plunging his hidden blade into the man's left lung.

His opponent let out a yelp of surprise.

Altair settled him down and, while trying to control his breathing, said, "Your work here is finished."

"No…_no!_" Majd said and tried pushing himself away from Altair, but the assassin had a firm grip on his tunic. "It had only just begun!"

"Tell me; what's your part in all of this?" Altair said calmly and pulled Majd closer to himself. "Do you intend to defend yourself as the others have and explain away your evil deeds?"

"The Brotherhood wanted the city; I wanted power. There was…an _opportunity_."

"An opportunity to murder innocents?"

"Not so innocent. Dissident voices cut deep as steel. They disrupt order. In this, I do agree with the Brotherhood."

"You kill people simply for believing differently than you?"

_"__Of course not__!_ I killed them because I could! Because it was _fun_! Do you know what it _feels_ like to determine another man's fate? And did you see the way the people cheered, the way they _feared_ me? _I was like a god_! You'd have done the same if you could. Such…power."

"Once perhaps, but then I learned what becomes of those who lift themselves above others."

"And what is that?"

"Here, let me show you." Altair let go of him and stabbed him in the side of the neck with his hidden blade, listening to Majd gag out a weird noise before he died. Altair closed his eyes and stood up, examining himself. That was perhaps the messiest assassination he had ever done, judging by the amount of blood he got on his robes. He'd have to sneak his way back to the Assassins Bureau by rooftop.

Just as he started to make his way back, Nemo jumped down from the rooftops. She was about to say something until she saw all the blood on Altair's outfit and the dead body on the ground. "I hope you have extra special heavy-duty bleach. Any casualties to you?"

Altair put his hand up to his jaw. "Bumps and bruises, nothing bad."

Nemo looked at Majd's corpse. "Effing retard. He deserved this."

"Come on. We should return to the bureau.

* * *

"Jerusalem needs a new ruler," said Altair as he presented the feather. There was blood on the ground from the rescued assassin and a few of the other men of the Brotherhood were scrubbing the floors clean.

"So I have heard," Malik said.

"What's this? No words of wisdom for me? Surely I have failed in some spectacular fashion."

"You performed as an assassin should, no more, no less. But for you to expect comments on your work troubles me."

"Can I uh, interrupt for a moment?" Nemo said and both of their gazes fell upon her. "I just want to know if that other guy is alright."

"He is fine, being tended to by a healer," Malik said and dropped a book on the countertop.

"Okay, in that case…I'll be off over here." Nemo left the room.

Altair turned to Malik. "It seems that everything I do troubles you."

"Reflect on that, then. I'm surprised that the wolf can even put up with you."

"We get along well."

"Yes, I can tell. So is the nature of dogs…wolves."

"You think it is not genuine?"

"Many things concern me, Altair. Right now I know it's friendship. In the beginning it probably was not."

"That is not of our concern."

"I know. Why I even brought it up was none of my business." He went back to his work with a serious look on his face.

The next morning Nemo awoke how she usually did, curled up next to Altair while clutching the cloth on his broad chest. Altair was on his side with one arm underneath his pillow and the other over Nemo's small frame. Malik had woken up early to make both of them (mainly Nemo, anyways) a breakfast that consisted of some type of pastry, a sweet meat, and fruit that was actually fresh and not just bruised with crawling maggots.

Rubbing her eyes, Nemo walked into the bureau. The sun was barely even rising and the sky was still a dark blue. Malik had lit the room with candles and was still setting the table. "You didn't have to get up so early, you know." She said quietly and rubbed her eyes.

"I like to get up early," he said and put down the last plate.

Nemo counted three plates before saying, "I guess I'll thank you in advance."

"It's always a pleasure."

When she noticed that Altair didn't say anything to him, she elbowed him roughly in the side and said, "I'll strangle the appreciation from your throat, you know."

"Thank you, Malik," Altair said and glared at Nemo, holding a hand to his side.

"If only I knew that was sincere."

"I'm pretty sure that it is," Nemo said, "seeing as to how if he truly wasn't he wouldn't have said anything no matter what I did. Oh yeah, and…by the way…you're a jackass, Altair, because in my dream that I had last night you called me a very bad word that I don't want to repeat."

After a moment of silence and contemplation, he asked, "What did I call you?"

"Like I said, I don't wish to repeat it." She took a bite of the pastry and commented, "This is actually really good. Sticky, but good."

"It's glazed with honey." Malik said.

"Honey? Isn't that expensive?"

"It's a _delicacy_." Malik said with a small grin. Honey is apparently a delicacy everywhere.

After the meal they headed back to Masyaf.

* * *

**Out of all the targets in Assassins Creed, Majd Addin is the worst! Not that he's hard to beat, just that he's an evil power-hungry urban fiend! Not that urban has anything to do with it…I don't know, it's people like Majd Addin that you just want to shove their face in a mountain of mud.**

**I tried to spiffy-up the fight scene. I hope that it went well.**

**On a side note, if you haven't noticed, whenever you lock onto a target on the 'Save Citizen' icon, after a few seconds Altair says something in Arabic. 'Wayhak' means 'You're in trouble' and, my personal favorite, 'Eghrib an wejhy' means 'Get out of my face.' He also says Tamahhal (slow down), Rdoha alaih (have at me), and Ala rislek (stop). He also says 'La shay' wakion motlak bal kollon momken' at the end of the game.**


	19. Sibrand

**I profoundly apologize for the late chapter. I got a little stumped around the middle ^^,**

**Disclaimer: Everything that Ubisoft made belongs to them, I don't have rights to it, and I'm not trying to make a profit off of it whatsoever, but I do own characters like Nemo and Jafar and the other ones I made. Please don't sue!**

**By the way, the thing about chinchillas…I'll let you figure that out.**

* * *

Nemo glanced nervously at the silver sphere Al Mualim held. She hated silver and she especially hated silver that was being handled by a person. Altair noticed the sudden change in her mood and gave her a look that clearly said 'calm down.' Regardless of her being worried, Al Mualim spoke to them without paying much attention to how she felt towards the sphere.

"I trust you are well rested? Ready for your remaining trials?"

"I am, but I'd speak with you first. I have questions." Altair said in a voice so calm that it was rather eerie. How was it that he kept his voice so soft all the time?

"Ask, then. I'll do my best to answer."

"The merchant king of Damascus murdered the nobles who ruled his city. Majd Addin of Jerusalem used fear to force his people into submission. I suspect William meant to murder Richard and hold Acre with his troops. These men were meant to aid their leaders, but instead they chose to betray them. What I do not understand is why."

"Is the answer not obvious?" Al Mualim turned around and began pacing back and forth slowly across the room. "The Templars desire control. Each man, as you noted, wanted to claim their cities in the Templar name that the Templars themselves might rule the Holy Land, and eventually beyond. But they cannot succeed in their mission."

"Why is that?"

"Their plans depend upon the Templar treasure; the _Piece of Eden_." He approached Altair and Nemo felt like backing away. "But we hold it now, and they cannot hope to achieve their goals without it."

"What is this treasure?"

"It is _temptation_."

"It's just a piece of silver."

"_Look at it_."

"What am I suppose to see?"

"This…'piece of silver'…cast out Adam and Eve, it turned staves into snakes, parted and closed the Red Sea. Eris used it to start the Trojan War, and with it turned water into wine."

"It seems rather plain for all the power you claim it has. How does it work?"

"He who holds it commands the hearts and minds of whoever looks upon it. Who have a…tastes of it, as they say."

"And Garnier's men?"

"An experiment. Herbs used to simulate its effects, to be ready for when they held it."

"Talal supplied them, Tamir equipped them…they were preparing for something. But what?"

"_War_."

"And the others? The men who ruled the cities? They meant to gather up the people, make them like Garnier's men."

"The perfect citizens, the perfect soldiers, a perfect world." He set the Piece of Eden into its golden container and closed the top.

"Robert de Sable must never have this back."

"So long as he and his brothers live, they will try."

"Then they must be destroyed."

"Which is what I've had you doing. There are two more Templars who require your attention; one is Acre known as Sibrand. One in Damscus, called Jubair. Visit with the bureau leaders. They will instruct you further." He walked over to a nearby bookshelf and grabbed a book.

"As you wish."

"Be quick about it. No doubt Robert de Sable is made nervous by our continued success. His remaining followers would do their best to expose you, and to exterminate Nemo. They know they will come, the man in the white hood and the wolf with the strange marks. They'll be looking for both of you."

"They won't find us. I am but a blade in the crowd, Nemo is the wolf in sheep's clothing."

_Well said, Altair. You're a poet-wannabe? That was cliché._ Nemo sarcastically thought.

After a moment, Al Mualim voiced, "Here. My gift to you. In gratitude for the good work you've done." He handed Altair a sword with a hilt that had Arabic carved on it and Arabian words printed in fine gold on the silver blade.

"Thank you, Master." Altair took it carefully and replaced his old sword.

"And, Nemo," Al Mualim said.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. No doubt our enemies are killing any dog they find in the superstition that it is you."

"I will be. It's hard to kill a werewolf."

"So I've heard," he smiled and turned around.

Upon walking down the stairs, Nemo had a nervous feeling settle in her stomach again. Exterminate? The word itself unsettled her. She reminded herself that the only person who actually knew how to kill her was Altair. Sure, she told Malik, but Malik probably didn't know that she was serious.

"You should really keep a low profile while we're out of Masyaf," Altar said.

"I will. I don't want to die, so I won't."

"But you could."

After a moment, she said, "You know, if the general population of people ever find out about werewolves…about my kind…they would try to eradicate us."

"As far as they know, you're the only one, and in their eyes, you're a supernatural being."

She set her gaze on the ground. "Do you think I'll ever find another werewolf? Just out of curiosity, I mean." She kicked the ground with her foot and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "I think it'd be awesome to meet another."

Altair wasn't expecting that one and he honestly didn't know how to answer it. Since when did she so suddenly want to meet another lycanthrope?

"Ah, whatever. It's a ridiculous thi-"

"It's not ridiculous."

"The point I was going to imply was that I'm going to sound girly mary-sueish and completely cliché and say that I already have everything I nee-" she would have finished her sentence as they started descending the walkway to the courtyard until she saw a novice shove another novice and-out of all places-he was knocked into her with surprising force. Nemo squeaked and grabbed onto Altair's arm as the force swung her around and, consequently, knocked the trio to the ground. Unfortunately for Nemo, both of them landed on top of her in a weird pile.

Nemo roughly shoved both of them aside and yelled, "Get off me!" She stood up and brushed herself off, offering a hand to Altair.

"Next time you fall, don't grab onto the person nearest to you," Altair said with an edge of anger and pulled himself up.

"Sorry…?" Nemo voiced with an apologetic smile.

The novice had collected himself and got back to his feet, glaring at the other who had pushed him. The other teenager actually appeared quite afraid. Was it because he just caused two renowned people to have an embarrassing mishap? "I apologize," he said and bowed his head. "My name is Kareem. You must be Nemo…and greetings, Master Altair."

"Master?" Nemo inquired. "You know what-never mind. You're alright." She patted him on the shoulder and turned around, not before glaring at the currently terror-stricken novice. Her glare may not have been as powerful as Altair's, but it was enough to say 'back off, bucko.'

Since it was already late in the day, the two decided to have much-needed baths and had their hearts set on the dinner created by the currently overworked women. A good meal didn't sound too bad.

* * *

"Ah, two more bad guys to go," Nemo said as she saddled Fath.

"Three," Altair corrected. "These are merely two conspirators that are aiding my main target, that being Robert de Sable."

"Well, we'll see how he goes when all of his men are dead or AWOL."

"AWOL?"

"It means absent-without-leave. You're gone without permission, or you're missing." She put her right foot on the foothold of Fath's saddle and swung herself over. "It's a military term." She gently pressed her heels into Fath's flanks to tacitly asked him to move forward. She didn't kick him like what Altair does to Seema.

The ride to Acre was expected to take four or five days, but it was extended to nine due to weather. On the seventh day they ran out of food rations and were out of water and spent most of their time looking for a nearby body of water. They eventually found a stream in a wooded area and, since the sun was close to setting, they settled the horses down and Altair got a fire going.

Nemo bent down to the water and lapped it up. While she didn't have to worry about getting sick from it, Altair did and he would have to boil the water. "Do you reckon there are any deer here?"

"Probably not," Altair said an gently blew on the tinder to get the fire going.

"Would you give me permission to hunt?"

He thought for a moment as he fed the now-roaring fire. She's a wolf, she won't stray. "As long as you remain nearby."

"Really? I mean…thank you." She slipped out of her clothes and swiftly became a wolf. "I'll be back in a moment. Hopefully I'll catch something." She climbed over the rocks and went out of sight.

The last time she went hunting was several months ago and she was currently excited about the aspect of catching something. Even if it was something small like a finch, hunting was perhaps a wolf's favorite pastime.

After wandering around for a about twenty minutes, she picked up the scent of something that she instinctively knew as 'food.' Neither of them had had anything to eat since the previous day and a half so she quickly began following, her tail wagging back and forth like a fluffy propeller. The forest was a wet and mossy one with many slippery rocks and several tall, green trees and was filled with overflowing streams and birds who fled at the sight of the wolf. She kept near the water in case any fish appeared, but after an hour, none showed.

She overturned a rock and found what appeared to be a colony of beetles. They tasted disgusting, as well as the few moths that were hanging around, but they were still food. She was afraid to eat the berries so she shied away from them and continued searching. She was enjoying the forest and would have taken her time if Altair weren't with her, but with the thought of her anticipating friend, she picked up her pace. Her patience paid off when she found a foraging red fox which-to be frank-surprised her. Something nagged at her about the aspect of eating another canine, but regardless of that, she got low to the ground and kept her eyes on the creature. The fox's nose was to the ground and his bushy tail was up high in the air as he turned over several leaves in search of food. A twig snapped and she froze, as did the prey, which looked in her direction. He waited for a moment with twitching whiskers before realizing that he was in danger and began to run away.

Nemo sprinted from where she was and tripped the fox, listening to him squeal as she sunk her teeth into him.

Altair was watching the water of the stream keenly for any fish that happened to swim by, his sword raised above the water as he remained still as possible. When he heard Nemo approach, he gave her a weird look when she trotted happily with a limp fox in her mouth. "Found a fox," she said dropped it in front of Altair. She sat down on her haunches and panted, expecting something.

Altair picked it up by the scruff of the neck with raised eyebrows.

Nemo lowered her head and caught his gaze, saying, "Do you like it?"

He hesitated before saying, "It'll do."

She wagged her tail and could barely remain seated.

She is such a wolf…she even expects praise. He patted her on the head before he began to skin the creature. The fur would be useful for something, he figured. He'd often heard of people selling furs in markets and even getting rich from them. He personally didn't like the thought of killing an animal merely for the fur, because it's not the animals fault that they have desirable fur, but wasting an animal was something he would never do. If he could find something useful to do with the bones then he would, either that or he'll bury whatever they don't use to return the elements of the body to the ground. It was more of a nobility thing.

With Nemo as her human self now, the two ate what they could from the fox (which turned out to be surprisingly lean) and saved the rest of the meat for the morning, or for later on in the next day. And, unannounced to Altair, Nemo was willing to eat the heart and the lungs. The only thing she said that she would complain about would be the bad aftertaste.

Once dawn broke, they woke up and saddled Seema and Fath. Altair had a small breakfast before leaving, where they continued their trip to Acre.

Once they arrived, Nemo noticed all of the dead bodies lying on the ground. It was much more than the last time they visited. Not only that, but several houses were smoldering and ruined outside of the city. Piles upon piles of dead men, women, and a few children, were stacked upon one another and were being rolled into the ground. She could have sworn that the soil was soaked with by blood and once she saw a few destroyed walls near the city, she understood that Acre had just been through another war. She was a little baffled; King Richard was there the last time they were in Acre, and it looked a war had happened then as well, but now it looked worse. It was as if people went mad and massacred everyone.

Regardless of the horrific scene, the main thing that bothered her was the stench. It was worse than decay and sewers combined.

Altair immediately had a tricky task of getting inside. There were no scholars nearby, nor were there any guards to kill as a distraction. The beams that were usually up for a scaffolding were gone and the walls that had been broken had people working on them. The only way inside would be to either kill all the guards at the front gate or have Nemo pull him up over the wall. Killing all the guards would alert the city to his presence, or at least Sibrand, and that was perhaps one of the last things he needed. "Nemo," he whispered to her as he handed their horses to the stableman. "I'm going to need you to get both of us over the wall.

"Eh?" she gave him a dubious look.

"It's either that or the city knows we're here."

"Okay."

Once they were out of the stables, they made their way to a shadowy wall of the city where the workers weren't present. "Just grab onto my arm," said Nemo and he locked his arm with hers. "Hang on tight."

Both of them started running towards the wall and Nemo's feet hit it first. Altair aided her in running up it with their momentum but he could tell that she was having difficulty with one arm.

Once they reached the top, Altair climbed down the wall before being spotted by an archer while Nemo jumped into an alleyway and waited for him. "Yet again, that was successful," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," Altair said and motioned for them to head out into the streets.

On the streets, there were primitive tarp-like covers that held several corpses that were covered with by bloody blankets. Pools of blood from their bodies smeared the ground and people regularly avoided them for obvious reasons.

Once they reached the Assassins Bureau, Nemo was relieved to get away from the grotesque sights.

"Greetings Altair, and the world-renowned wolf. What news?" The rafiq said and looked up at the two of them from his book.

"Al Mualim has named another," said Altair, "calls himself Sibrand."

"I am familiar with the man," The rafiq said and stood up. "Newly appointed leader of the Knights Teutonic, he resides in the Venetian quarter and runs Acre's port."

"I'll start my work at once."

"Here are the places where you should focus your search; on the docks east of here, among the ships and their crews, at the chapel to the northeast near the cross overlooking the port, and to the north, in front of Saint John's gates."

"This is most helpful. My thanks for the guidance."

"Altair…"

"Yes, rafiq?"

"I owe you an apology."

"For what?" Altair sounded surprised.

"For doubting your dedication to our cause."

"No, it was I who made the error. I believed myself above the Creed. You owe me nothing."

"As you wish, my friend. Go insane." He said with a gesture of his hand and smiled. Then his gaze turned to Nemo. "And, wolf, please be cautious. There have been rumors that every dog spotted has been slain and burned. I suggest you disguise yourself as you are now, as a human."

"Thank you. Al Mualim warned me of that, too."

"And, one more thing…" he reached down beneath the counter for a moment and took out a bundle. "This was tailored not that long ago. We figured that you would need it."

Nemo extended her arms and took it, seeing that there was a dark-blue tunic with a brown leather belt, grey pants, a hood, and a red sash that went around her waist. "Thank you. I don't know what to say."

"It'll keep you safe from the guards granted your hood is up. It's main purpose is to disguise you as a young man, and I am sure that you already figured this, but the red sash is so that the other brothers know it is you."

"Again, thank you. I-I really needed this, actually."

"It's no trouble at all." He leaned back from the counter and sauntered to a bookshelf.

Once they were outside, Altair said to Nemo in a low voice, "Try not to use high profile actions. Also, make sure that no one else sees your hair."

Nemo pulled her dark-blue hood up. "My hair? Why? It's still black, isn't it?"

"I just noticed that the dye is starting to fade. There's a small amount of white and doesn't look natural with black hair."

"Thanks for the heads up. I didn't even noticed that."

"Meet me back here at sunset, or before, even."

"Will do so, Powder Pants."

They both separated by walking in opposite directions.

It wasn't much longer until Altair was walking around Saint John's gates that he heard two men conversing about what he needed to hear. He got a little closer to them and listened carefully.

"It is done. We've got the last of the food on his ship this morning."

"How much is there?" The other man asked.

"Enough for several weeks."

"What's he planning, I wonder?"

"I think he attempts to flee. Something's got him very scared. Anyway, I must be off. He asked me to deliver a letter to a courier at Saint John's gate. I best not keep him waiting." He departed from the man and began to walk away, unknowing that Altair was right behind him.

Altair bumped himself into him and snagged the letter from his pack. The man cursed and hollered at him but Altair ignored him and quickly turned down an alleyway before he noticed his missing item.

* * *

Nemo saw herself briefly in the reflection of a puddle and thought to herself that she really did look like a boy. It was then that she was thankful for virtually no cleavage, but she had to worry about others noticing the natural curve that basically all women have. She figured that the dispirited guards would often ogle women passing by. What else would they do while being bored and doing nothing all day?

After glancing somewhat nervously at a large formation of guards that were marching down a street, she spotted a tall man wearing white robes with a grey headpiece that only showed his eyes. She walked up to him and bowed.

"I am sorry," he said in a light voice, "do I know you?"

"I highly doubt that you do, but you probably know my friend, Altair. Do you hate his guts like all the others?"

"Aha! Nemo! I have been wanting to meet you for some time now. Too bad I've never had the chance, but fortune favors me today. What do you desire?"

"Alty and I are looking for some big important man named Sibrand. Do you know anything about him? Well, I mean, I don't want to impose…so maybe I could do something for you and you tell me something useful?"

"Yes, yes, of course. I'm in a bad situation. I guess that I insulted a Teutonic Knight's wife or…so I was told…and there's three men after me. Will you be so kind as to eliminate them?"

"Sure thing, I'll be back in a moment," she gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and walked away, listening to him sigh relief. "Poor guy's a rock in a hard place," she whispered to herself. "Why is it that even though they're trained to not get caught, they're always in trouble?" She shook her head and brought her hand up to the bridge of her nose.

The first man was easy and stuck out like an albino giraffe in a herd of wildebeest. He was even asking people out in public if they met a man of certain description, which just so happened to match the informant's identity exactly. She tailed him from behind but didn't wait for him to turn a corner into an alleyway.

Nemo slid her hand farther back into its sleeves and grew out her claws, picking up her pace to get in front of the man. She turned around and blocked his path, bringing him into a hug as she stabbed him in the stomach. He let out a yelp of surprise at first but then went limp, and Nemo was quick to escape the scene.

The next was slightly trickier but she could smell a faint scent of the informant, which immediately told her that he was her second target. She silently killed him while no one was looking and fast-walked into an alleyway, letting out a breath of relief once she was out of sight and after she heard people beginning to scream.

After the next was dead she made her way back to the informant. She became lost in her thoughts and her feet subconsciously retraced her previous steps, but while she was temporarily dead to the world, she failed to notice that a rather large figure stepped into her path. She nearly bumped into him and it was only when she looked up did she realize who it was, and once she saw his face and the scars on his bald head, she let out a silent gasp and took a few steps back.

He was even bigger in person. He must have been at least seven feet tall and probably three hundred pounds. Not because he was fat, but because he was abnormally muscular and just so big for a normal human. The man's shoulders were so broad that he could have had four chinchillas sitting on one of them all at once.

Nemo decided to wipe off her surprised look and gave a smirk, saying, "Robert de Sable. I was just thinking about you."

Robert was holding his helmet against his hip and had a smirk on his face as well. "Were you really, Hellhound? You looked surprised at first. Did you not think that I wouldn't be able to recognize you?"

"I don't know, I mean I do look like a boy right now."

"You do. Next time you should make sure that other enemies aren't around when you kill their comrade."

"Aaah, so you saw me kill that man, huh?"

"No, but I saw you walking away. So I followed. I came you ask you…what brings you here today?"

"_Je ne sais pas_. Maybe I just wanted a walk. I heard that Acre has a nice fish port."

"_Oui_. _Et je sais maintenant que tu parles français_."

"Ooo, fancy. Don't worry bucko, you ain't my target."

"I see. What is your business here, then?"

"None of your beeswax, _mon chéri_. By the way, you sound like you're implying something, and you're wrong. You're not my enemy."

"_Vraiment_?"

"_Vraiment_. Master of deception, my kind are. As I'm sure you know."

Robert hummed in thought and shifted his weight to his other foot. "Deception, hmm?"

Nemo gave a purposefully toothy smile. "_Oui_. But like I said before; you're not my target. There's a different guy I'm after. But don't worry,_ mon chéri_. Once the Templars get the Piece of Eden…I'll get to kill that so-called 'master,' Al Mualim."

His eyes flicked to her.

"Yeah, I know. He desires the Holy Land…that man is the master of deception. No, manipulation. I'm going to throw it right back at him. He's using the assassins to deliver the Holy Land to himself, and of course, he wants all the Templars eliminated in the process. But I have my own plans. And he has it, you know. The Piece of Eden. It's _on his desk _but I can't touch it…why else do you think I'm here?"

Robert shifted his weight again. "So you know the secret of the Apple?"

"Haa, I've been trying to find a time when Al Mualim's not with the thing but he never takes it off of him. He even sleeps with it. It's just easier to kill him, but so long as he has it, I can't fucking touch him. He stole from the Templars…that's a mistake he should have never made, but he will pay for what he's done. It's not just theft; it's betrayal, even treason. Now murder."

Robert grinned. "So you claim yourself to be an ally?"

Nemo laughed again. "No. I'm not an ally. I've been stuck on this hellhole-of-a-planet for eight _hundred _years and I'm sick of it. I can't kill myself, I just won't die. I want to leave this world. Immortality is not a privilege, it's a hell. This was a best choice."

"Hmm…_intéressant, chien de l'enfer_. I choose to be skeptical of you, but tell me; which should I believe?"

Trick question. "You should believe what you think. If not, then I'm just a mere howl on deaf ears. _Au revoir, mon chéri_." She put her hand on his shoulder and would have kissed him on the cheek for emphasis (and brush her mouth with soap afterward), but he was just too tall and she was too short.

Once she was out of sight she started running away and felt he nervous knot in her stomach worsen. She went to the informant and got the information she needed, then set out to find Altair.

* * *

Altair delivered the last blow to the herald before near breaking his jaw. The man held up his hands and yelled, "It's not my fault! I'm only following orders! If you want you ship back, speak with the court," he did an exaggerated gesture with his arm as he held his other to his stomach.

"That's not what I'm after," Altair said.

"Then what?"

"Sibrand's claimed nearly a hundred ships. For what purpose?"

"A blockade. They're to sail for open water and establish a perimeter."

"For what? Does Saladin intend to strike from sea?"

"No, it's not he we defend against, but ships from home, to deny Richard more troops."

"Why would one of Richard's own want to see him weakened in this way?"

"I don't know. Ask Sibrand, they're his orders. I'm just meant to carry them out. Now please, let me go. I've told you all I know."

"I'm sorry. I cannot risk you telling him I'm here." He swiftly and silently stabbed the man in the heart and walked away as he heard him fall to the ground.

After walking for a couple minutes he saw Nemo fast-walking towards him. He didn't look at her as she appeared beside him.

"Robert de Sable is in the city," Nemo said.

Altair looked at her. "You met him?"

"I had a 'friendly encounter,' so to say. Let's just say he believes we're on agreeable terms and thinks that I'm going to kill Al Mualim."

"What did he say to you? What did you say to him?"

She decided to lie. "He saw a body of a person and saw me walking away, so he followed. He mentioned Masyaf with a hatred so I mentioned that I had a whole conspiracy…he didn't mention you, but he might be expecting you."

"Damn it," Altair said under his breath. "Did you know what he looked like?"

"I didn't then. I do now."

"Come, let's head back to the rafiq," he said and took hold of her arm, leading her into an alleyway and out of the streets.

"So tell me what you found out," Altair said.

"Only that there are a lot of drunken people near the ports and no doubt they're easily provoked and will try to drown the person nearest to them. Also, Sibrand is planning something of a rather large scale seeing as to how he's taken an entire fleet of boats, both military and commercial, I believe. I think he's suppose to leave today for something."

"We'll see how this turns out," Altair said.

Nemo currently knew that she was going to suffer from a low ego for the next month, and not only that, but she also felt incompetent for the fact that by not noticing a man as noticeable as Robert de Sable, and by not waiting a little longer, she may have endangered Altair. She promised herself to remain more vigilante.

* * *

"Greetings, my friends," the rafiq said and looked up from a book that was, until recently, previously engrossed in. "How fair's your search?"

"Positive and negative," Altair said.

"How so?"

"I know when and where to strike Sibrand, but Robert de Sable is in the city, as well."

"Hmm, a few of the others have said so as well. My only advice would be to remain wary of Templars. But, back to the matter at hands, how will you succumb Sibrand?"

"Sibrand is said to be consumed by fear, driven mad by the knowledge his death approaches. He has sealed the docks district and now hides within, waiting for his ship to arrive."

After a brief pause, the old man said, "This will make things dangerous. I wonder how it is he learned of your mission."

"The men I've killed...they are all connected. Al Mualim has warned me that word of our deeds had spread among them. After what Nemo did to William of Montferrat I am sure that they are no doubt severely unsettled."

The rafiq placed a feather at the front of the counter. "Be on your guard, my friends."

"Of course, rafiq. But I think it will be to our advantage. Fear will weaken him." Altair said and took the feather from the counter, placing it in a pouch.

As he sat down with Nemo among a few pillows, he voiced, "Robert de Sable shouldn't be much of an obstacle should we run into him."

"Did you see that guy? He's as huge as a moose! Don't underestimate that bear of a-"

"I'm not underestimating him, Nemo. We'll steer clear of him, but should he interfere…"

"Not to sound like a wimp or anything, I say run."

He gave her a quizzical look. "What's this all of a sudden? You're never intimidated, and there's only been one occasion when I've seen you as such."

Nemo mentally slapped herself in the mind. If he and Robert de Sable got into a fight, the game play, as messed up as it is now, would be even more so and Altair suddenly won't have a big boss-battle at the end with him. "Sorry…that guy is scary, but I guess I'm saying it's best to just leave him alone."

"Of course," Altair said but had a slightly dubious look in his eyes. He probably knew that she was keeping something from him, but thankfully, due to his nature, he wouldn't pry at it if he knew that it was something she did not wish to discuss.

They rested for about an hour before Altair decided that it was time to leave.

* * *

Nemo followed Altair closely by at the docks. The sun was beginning to set and the cloudy sky was beginning to change into several different hues of oranges and reds. The tide gently came in and out and the hundreds of boats rocked back and forth from the slight forces of the waves. People were beginning to close up their shops and were about to retire for the night.

They remained in low profile and waited for any sign of Sibrand. Until, finally, they noticed a large ring of people beginning form not too far away. Both of them became interested and joined in the crowd.

And, lo and behold, stood the blonde-haired Sibrand with his chain mail on underneath his armor that was covered with by a white tunic bearing the red cross of the Templars. He appeared to be extremely agitated.

"You are mistaken, Master Sibrand, I would never propose violence against any man, most certainly not again you," the scholar, dressed in white robes, spoke.

"So you say," Sibrand said and circled the frightened scholar. "And yet no one here will vouch for you. What am I to make of this?"

"I-I live a simple life, my lord, as do all men of the Law, it is not of us to call attention to ourselves."

"Perhaps, or perhaps they do not know you because you are not a man of God, but an assassin!" He bellowed, violently pushing the scholar to the ground.

"Never!" The scholar said, standing on his knees.

"You wear the same robes."

"Th-they cover themselves as we do; it is only to instill uncertainty and fear. You must not give in!" Somehow, the scholar managed to contain a calm, friendly voice, but he was obviously frightened.

"You're calling me a coward? Challenging my authority?" He aggressively pushed the man onto the ground again and circled him quickly, using wide hand gestures to address the crowd. "Were you perhaps hoping to turn my own knights against me?"

"No, no no no! I don't understand, why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing wrong."

Sibrand laughed slightly. "I don't recall accusing you of any wrongdoing, which makes your contrasts rather odd. Is it the presence of guilt that compels a confession?" He roughly pushed him again and the scholar covered his head as if to protect himself from any oncoming blows.

"But I confess nothing!"

"Ahh, defiant to the very end."

"What do you mean?"

"William and Garnier were too confident, and they paid for it; their lives. Not only that, but the work of Satan took William. I won't make the same mistake. I won't have myself killed by that demon. If you truly are a man of God, then truly the Creator will provide for you! Let him stay my hand!"

"You've gone mad! Will none of you come forward to stop this? He's been poisoned by his own fear, compelled to see enemies when none exist!"

Of course, no one said anything. They all knew that if they spoke up for the scholar they would be killed, too.

There was the sound of metal being slid out of its sheath as Sibrand drew his sword. "It seems the people share my concern. Maybe you are the Hellhound! You are the spawn of the devil! Do you think you can just come here and take me? Me? You're disguise will not work! What I do, I do for Acre!" Sibrand delivered a swift blow to the scholar's neck and kicked him with his boot. He was dead within a few seconds.

"Manage to him, men. Report any suspicious activity to the guards," Sibrand said. "I doubt we've seen the last of these assassins, persistent bastards." He spat on the ground and looked at the fallen scholar, whom was now lying in a pool of blood. "Now get back to work." Someone handed him a funny-looking helmet that had two black horns on the side and Sibrand walked away with a group of men. Two of his men grabbed onto the dead scholar and threw him into the water of the port, then nonchalantly left as if nothing ever happen. They did, however, as well as everybody else, avoid the blood that was spilt onto the stone ground.

After the crowd dispersed, Altair and Nemo tried to figure out a way to get to Sibrand's boat.

"Nemo, you said you can swim?"

"Yeah. What are you getting at?"

"We corner him. I take the land entry, you come up by the sea, and he'll be forced to go my way if he wishes to escape, unless if he jumps into the water. I doubt he will do that."

"Yeah, because then he'd just drown from the weight of his armor and chain mail. But that sounds like a good idea. How do I know you're there and ready?"

He thought for a moment. She had a point. Howling beforehand would alert them to their ever-so-famous hellhound, whistling would also cause an alarm, and there was no way she would be able to hear his voice. He could see the boat from their point of view and contemplated a little longer. "Wait near the back of the boat but remain out of sight. When you see me look at you, count ten seconds and reveal that you're there. We'll strike then."

"Sounds like a plan. Do you want me as a wolf?"

"Yes. Definitely yes. Hide your clothes in a place that will be accessible after we down Sibrand. It'd be bad to have a dog walking around the streets right after someone was assassinated."

"Got it." She eyed an alleyway. "Wait here, I know where to go."

Altair sat down on a bench and kept his low profile on. Once the wolf arrived at his side, he stood up and they departed.

Nemo walked a small ways down a dock and hid herself behind a gigantic fishing net to be out of sight from the streets. When she was positive that no one else was looking, she slid herself into the icy cold waters. She gasped with surprised at its temperature. It felt like a hundred knives bite into her body all at once. If she stayed in there for more than five minutes, she'd go hypothermic.

Submerging herself under the water (which was difficult for a canine), she swam underneath several boats and through several docks until she couldn't hold her breath anymore. When she surfaced, the only people around were drunken sailors, so she was safe. As she dog-paddled through the water, she imagined that she looked like an oddly-shaped, oversized otter cutting through the water, with only her head and back exposed, the rest of her body invisible.

Once she reached Sibrand's boat, she used her claws to hook herself into place and found herself shivering violently. She brought her body in close to herself and got her erratic breathing under control. Slowly, she moved to the back of the boat and could see the path of which Altair would take.

She heard Sibrand yell angrily, "_Why_? None of you will take up arms in defense of your master? I'LL TAKE CARE OF THIS HEATHEN _MYSELF_!"

Nemo's eyebrows went up. This guy truly was insane. And on the topic of insane, she felt as if she would also go insane if she didn't shake herself dry. The urge to do so was killing.

Altair suddenly came into her sight and, at the last moment, he looked at her.

Nemo moved toward the middle of the boat's side and counted down from ten. "…three, two…one."

Nemo ran up the side and landed on all fours on the boat's deck, snarling and growling with teeth bared and body ridged. "Surprise, _mon ami_."

Sibrand instantly screamed out orders to kill 'it' and fled, sprinting away from her. All of the men on the boat rushed to her but once they came with a proclaimed radius, they all stopped and hesitated, waiting for their neighbor to attack and be killed for a window of opportunity that they might kill the wolf.

Sibrand panicked and ran for guard tower off of the boat, but saw that Altair was there and immediately recognized the white robes. "Stay back! Assassin! Keep away from me, you murderer!" He swiftly changed direction and ran to the front of the boat, practically breaking down into hysteria. He realized that he was cornered and had no way of escaping, except to jump into the waves below.

Altair stopped in his tracks when Sibrand unsheathed his sword and challenged him. He, too, drew his sword as he heard the sound of crunching bones, ripping flesh, popping noises, splattering, and of course, growling and barking as well as whistling noises due to paws whipping through the air.

Sibrand glanced at Nemo and saw how miserably his men were failing. With that diminutive moment of distraction, Altair lunged at him and their swords clashed off of each other, sending sparks into the cool air. Sibrand was panic and shaky and was making large, erratic, quick swings which easily allowed Altair to dodge. Altair was being careful to not let Sibrand get past him, otherwise he'd have to do a chase.

Only twenty seconds passed before Sibrand, after swinging unsuccessfully multiple times, nearly pushed Altair off of his feet and managed to slide past him. He saw Nemo for a brief second and watched her imperturbably kick off his last knight into the icy water with her back paw.

He started fleeing as fast as his feet would carry him.

Altair, cursing himself for allowing Sibrand to get close enough to be shoved aside, sprinted after him. He paid no attention to Sibrand's pleading of letting him live and to leave him alone. After arriving at the mainland of Acre and chasing Sibrand for quite a long time, the man began to tire and the assassin caught up to him in an empty street. He leapt onto Sibrand's back and listened to him scream out of fear.

Altair gently turned Sibrand onto his back and supported him with his arms.

"Please…don't do this," Sibrand said.

"You are afraid," Altair said calmly while catching his breath.

"Of course I am afraid."

"But you will be safe now, held in the arms of your God," said Altair.

"Have my brothers taught you nothing?" Sibrand practically whispered. "I know what waits for me…for all of us."

"If not your God, then what?"

"Nothing. Nothing waits. And that is what I fear."

"You don't believe?"

"How could I, given what I know, what I've seen? Our Treasure was the truth."

"Truth of what?"

"That this life is all we have."

"But about what you said earlier? About the wolf? That the 'work of Satan' took William?"

"Do you really think that the people would know I don't believe? They'd see me unfit...they must know the lies, not the truths. The wolf is a creation of the Templar Treasure, meant to protect and guard it...but I see that yours does not follow its nature, the purpose of its existence." He sighed for a moment. "They say it is a creation of Satan...I must instill them with these words...for them to be afraid. They cannot know. There is nothing after this life, and they mustn't know."

"Linger a while longer, and tell me of the part you have played."

"A blockade by sea…to keep the fool kings and queens from sending any forces once we…once we…" he began to drift off slightly.

"Conquer the Holy Land?"

"Free it, you fool…from the tyranny of faith."

"Freedom? You worked to overthrow cities, control men's minds, murdered any who spoke again you."

"I followed my orders believing in my cause…same as you."

"Tell me one more thing, my friend; what do you mean that my wolf was created by the Templar Treasure? How would that be so?"

"Many years ago...those who came before...needed guardians. The wolves...they'd bond to...to..." Sibrand let out his breath and went completely limp. Altair closed his eyes.

He stood for a moment and thought hard. Nemo explained genetics and said that that was the reason why she was a werewolf, that it was all chance and probability. Sibrand claimed her to be a guardian, or at least a descendant of one. His reason for her existence was far different than hers. But the wolves bonded to what? A Treasure? A person? What did he mean by 'those who came before?'

He decided to think about it later.

Altair walked back into the main streets and saw quite a scene. Somehow, two men were hanging onto dear life on Nemo's back and she was frantically spinning around as if she were chasing her tail. She was trying to get them off and was putting on a rather impressive display. Not only that, but she was making such a good distraction that no guards even noticed Altair's kill. The wolf obviously had had enough when she leapt into the ocean and started swimming away at a remarkably fast speed. The two men let go and drowned, and Nemo disappeared underneath the waves.

He waited for about ten minutes on a mundane bench before Nemo, her hair drenched wet, sat down next to him. She had her hood up to prevent others seeing her dripping hair.

She pressed up against Altair and shivered, bringing her legs into her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I'm really, really, really, wickedly cold right now," Nemo said through chattering teeth. Altair brought his arm around her and tried to make her slightly warmer. "No chase from the guards this time, huh?"

"How did those two get on your back?"

"Overwhelmed a little…they can't swim." She took in quick, sharp breaths.

"Come. We must return to the rafiq."

* * *

Nemo managed to warm up slightly and kept her arms wrapped around herself as she entered the Bureau with Altair.

"Altair, Nemo. You two have caused quite a commotion."

Altair displayed his feather and announced that Sibrand was dead

"I see that that's true. You should return to Masyaf and speak with Al Mualim."

"Yes, I will…of this and other things."

"Is everything alright, my friend? You seem…distant."

"It's nothing, rafiq. Just a lot on my mind."

"Talk to me, then. Let me help."

"I need to make sense of this myself, first. Thank you for the offer."

"It is the men you kill, isn't it? You feel something for them."

"How?" Altair said.

"Ah, my friend, you are not meant to enjoy these grim tasks," the rafiq said. "Regret, uncertainty, sympathy; this is to be expected."

"I should not fear these feelings?"

Nemo said, "You should embrace them, actually. If you don't, then you're really just an animate rock. No one wants to be a rock. It's what keeps you as youself, and it's what keeps you human. It's also what keeps you alive, and it's also what keeps me sane."

"But, Nemo, what if I'm wrong? What if they're not meant to die; what if they mean well? Misguided perhaps, but pure in motive?"

"Look, I believe that what they _want _is good, but the way how they're going about doing it…" She put her hand up to her mouth in contemplation and decided to say another quote from the game. "It's bad. _Really _bad."

"What Nemo says is rather true," the rafiq said and leaned against the countertop on his hands. "I, for one, am still uncertain what exactly the Templars desire, but if they do mean well, then they are doing it in the wrong matters."

"But would it be their fault?" Altair said.

"It might be," Nemo said. "People make a common mistake and believe something without the consideration that it might be false, that's it's neither real nor fake because they don't actually know. Others are trained to see only what others want them to see, and they don't know how to-as Al Mualim says-'pierce the veil.' Some people just simply don't know how to see. Others are arrogant and stupid, but some are just ignorant, and others just simply don't know."

"You suggest they've been poisoned?"

"My health teacher calls is emotional poison. To poison a person with words and make them believe something else, you just have to choose the right sentences. It's ingenious, really. How do you kill a concept? An idea? A creed? You can't. They're misguided Altair, and some stupid, but I don't know if it's their own fault, if they're to blame, or if someone else is to blame, or if it's something completely different. None of us know. What you and I _do _know is that if you weren't doing what is it you're doing now, millions of people would die and millions more would suffer."

He thought about her words. "I must think of this. But thank you, both of you, for the aid." He turned around and walked into the adjacent room.

* * *

**Poor homicidal Alty :( Always having troubles.**

**And sorry about the cheesy meeting that Nemo had with Robert de Sable. If you want to know what it is they said in French, I suggest that you look it up on a translation website or something like that (I personally suggest SDL, of which I do not own any part of) because I feel like I've typed enough and I really have to go to the bathroom.**

**Again, I apologize for the seriously late chapter ^^,**


	20. Leap of Faith

**Oh my gosh, school just started way too quick. I'm still trying my best on this story, however ^^ I'm having loads of fun writing it.**

**By the way, I have no idea why I put Templars in Damascus O_o I'm just going along with it because it's in the game, plus there needs to be action ^-^ I actually don't know if Templars ever went to Damascus during the Crusades, but knowing them, they probably did.**

* * *

Nemo rolled onto her back as the novice quickly rubbed her belly. She wagged her tail in delight as the fifteen-year-old got her ticklish spot and her right leg started twitching. She never understood why that happens to wolves and dogs, perhaps they'd just hit a nerve or something, but she was currently enjoying the moment. It abruptly had to end when the rafiq called both her and Altair over.

Nemo rolled back onto her paws and trotted over to the counter, where the rafiq held a small piece of paper in his aged and boney hands.

"Al Mualim has sent word that he wishes for both of you to travel straight to Damascus and seek out Jubair al Hakim," he said and looked up from the paper.

"He doesn't want us to return first?" Nemo inquired.

"I think that things have become quite…urgent, I suppose. For the master to ask this of you two, it must be paramount," he set the piece of parchment down and put his hands on the wooden countertop.

Altair looked at the wolf. "We'll ride for there at once," he said and adjusted his bracers slightly.

Within fifteen minutes they effortlessly (due to repetition) got out of the city without arousing any suspicion. The horses were poorly brushed but they were at least full of food and water, and were also saddled up very quickly. Nemo had no clue how to get to Damascus from Acre, so she wound up following Altair the entire way.

* * *

As expected, Damascus was just as beautiful as ever from the long, meandering road that lead to the city's gates. Jerusalem was pretty, Acre had interesting architecture, but Damascus remained number one on Nemo's list of beautiful places. For a difference they actually arrived during noontime so they had plenty of time to get started on finding out what they could of Jubair. Nemo was already angry at the man; she still remembered what it was that he had done, and since she loves books, it only makes her even more determined.

After handing their horses over to the stablemen who clearly did not speak English and thankfully mistook Nemo for Altair's son, they joined the gigantic crowds of people swarming the merchant stalls. Thanks to the lycanthrope and the assassin being incognito, no one even glanced at her as she and Altair pushed their way through the loud masses.

As expected, there were guards at the gates but there was no one else to use and lure attention elsewhere for them to slip by. They almost made it to a merchant cart that was negotiating its way into the city, but before they could reach them, the guards let them through. They had no chance in the world of getting past them without killing them. Their clothes were definitely something no one would miss, with Altair and his white robes and Nemo with her blue-hooded cobalt tunic, therefore the guards would have remembered someone like those two leaving the city. They wouldn't be granted access.

Altair stopped walking and thought for a moment. "Nemo, do you still have that fox fur?"

"Creepily enough, yes. What are you getting at?"

"We'll try to barter past the guards."

"What if that doesn't work?"

"There's more than one way. We'll just try to take it easy for now."

Nemo never thought that she would have seen the assassin bartering, never mind act as someone completely different.

"Greetings, brethren," Altair said in a voice higher in pitch than his normal one and, as scary as it was, put on a broad smile and acted preppy. Not only that, but he was speaking in an Arabian accent for a change. "We hale from Jerusalem and ask for entrance into this remarkable city."

The guard exchanged a glance with one of his comrades. "And what might you be?" he asked in his seriously thick Arabian accent.

"My name is Yusef, this is Kareem, my son. I am a merchant visiting my brother, of whom is also a merchant. It's been three long years and we've been hoping to be reunited."

Something lit up in the guard's eyes and he said, "You can pass, but it'll cost you."

"Not a problem at all! We have a recently-caught animal skin, with fur so soft and exotic that it truly is a treasure. Kareem, give it here."

Nemo had a miniature internal panic attack and quickly grabbed the neatly-folded fox fur from her tunic and handed it to the assassin. "It's a red fox," she whispered into his ear as he took hold of it.

"This, my good sirs, is the fur of a red fox, quite a delicacy in northern Europe, which I have traveled to," he prayed to Allah that they would think he actually knew what he was talking about. "Their furs are highly prized and are a common decoration in households."

The guard took hold of the fur and examined it, rubbing it on both sides as if to inspect it. By this time the other guards had become interested and were eyeing it, obviously never seeing something like it before. While they were all probably familiar with animal parts, a red fox was most likely something that they had never come across.

"You can keep it, if you'll let us pass to my brother," Altair said and let the sentence hang.

The guard eyed Nemo for a moment and then gestured for them to pass.

Nemo let out her breath and promptly caught up with Altair. "People don't eat foxes," she said and swerved around group of men that briefly separated them. "But some people do use them for decorations."

"I just came up with that, and we're past them, so it worked well."

"It did indeed," Nemo said and, just as she was about to remark about the guard's funny-looking boots, a not-so-lovely scent brushed by her. She looked off to her right and saw a large plume of grey smoke rising to the sky in a huge column behind a group of buildings. She got Altair's attention by grabbing onto his arm, motioning her head towards it. "If that's a fire, then shouldn't everyone be just about freaking out right now?"

Altair looked at it curiously for a moment, but upon seeing everyone undisturbed by it, he said, "It mustn't be much. If it were a fire then people wouldn't be calm." he turned around and started to make their way to the bureau.

Their awareness was averted to a small commotion happening near a merchant's stand. A woman, whom was clutching a book in her hands to her chest, was protecting herself from two men that appeared to have been harassing her. They were grabbing onto her hair and her clothes and were clawing at the book that she held, but she had a death grip on it, and curled herself over to prevent them from grabbing it. Three other similarly-dressed men were standing watch with their arms crossed in front of the woman to ensure that no one would try to help her while the others attempted to steal her book.

Altair looked at them and between the direction of the bureau. His mind was made up when he told Nemo to stay where she was and left her, fast-walking up to the distressed citizen. "_Ala rislek_," he said loudly enough for them to know that he wasn't going to stand around and watch.

The two harassing the woman threw her aside and attempted to look tough as all five of them drew their swords.

"And what is it that _you_ want?" one of them asked and rolled his shoulders around.

"_Rdoha alaih_."

Just as one of them was about to slash him with his sword, Altair used his metal bracer to brush it aside and plunged his hidden blade into the man's right lung, quickly drew it out, punched him in the face, and at last stabbed in the neck. He whipped himself around and ducked another blow, sending his hidden blade gliding into the man's stomach. He roughly pushed him away into a merchant's stall that collapsed on top of him and listened to a brief yelp of surprise that ended with the crashing wood. He was forced to use his bracer again to deflect another blow, but he managed to snap the man's neck with his right hand while his left split the fourth's heart in half and resulted in an explosion of blood.

With a few dancing steps, he rounded the last, whom was now shaking terribly in fright. He got down on his knees and dropped his sword, putting his hands up while he began to plea for his life amongst the huge amounts of chaos that was now raging throughout the busy street.

Altair didn't heed to his pleas and dispatched him quickly, then turned to the woman, whom was collecting herself and looking at the dead bodies before her. "Stranger, thank you," she said and bowed her head.

"What was it that they wanted from you? They seemed insistent to have your book," Altair said.

"Yes, they were a few men working for a man named Jubair. I do not know what it is that he or they want, but I saw them burning books in street corners. I wouldn't let them have mine."

"Is there anything else?"

"That is all I know, stranger. I will tell my husband of your bravery," she said and moved a few strands of hair from her face and smiled.

"Good job," Nemo said, and Altair immediately knew that she was going to make a sarcastic comment about something. "Now all what you need to do is get that blood off of your outfit and you're set."

"It'll wash," he said and gently took her by the arm to lead them to the bureau. He wanted to get out of the area before the guards found the carnage.

As the oddball duo entered the bureau where the rafiq was carefully painting a new pot, they were greeted by the friendly man with a broad smile while he said, "Ahh, it's the heroes of Damascus! Come in, stay a while, tell me all about your adventures," he stood up from his work and did a gesture with his clay-covered hands to greet them.

"I'm afraid we don't have the time," Altair said.

"Nice to meet you too," Nemo said, regardless of Altair's statement.

"It is always a pleasure, miss wolf," he said and bowed slightly. "I see that it's too important for me now, hmm?"

"It's not that," said Altair.

"No, of course not. How may I serve you?"

"Al Mualim has asked that I take the life of the one they call Jubair," the assassin answered. "It is apparently urgent since, back in Acre, he sent a message for us to travel here directly."

"I have heard of him before. He is Saladin's chief scholar. Strange choice of target in my opinion, but who are we to question the master's will? I'm sure he has his reasons."

"So you are familiar with the man?" Altair asked.

"He's been quite busy these past few days, organizing the scholars and sending them to preach."

"What do they speak of?"

"Light and fire, cleansing sins, apocalyptic nonsense if you ask me. Always talk of 'paths' and a 'new world.'"

Altair's eyes flashed to him underneath his white hood. "What about this 'new world?'"

"Couldn't say, I don't pay attention to the ramblings of madmen, much too busy with _real_ work."

"Very well. We'll walk among the people, see what we can learn. Where would you suggest we search?"

"South of here, you will find an academy and a guard tower. Those are both good places to search. There is also a hospital to the east you might want to visit."

"We'll begin at once."

"So eager, you've certainly changed, and for the better, I might add. Oh, and, might I ask how your arm is doing? I heard that you sustained a rather formidable injury."

"It is fine, rafiq. Thank you for the concern," with that, they both turned around and walked away out of sight.

"You know," said Nemo, "you did heal surprisingly fast considering your shoulder was dislocated."

"What of it?"

"It was abnormal. I think it's cool. Though unfortunately, you're not impervious to pain so whoop-de-freakin'-doo, it was like hell," she said somewhat sarcastically.

"No one is impervious to pain."

"I know," she skipped the ladder and jumped down to the secluded street while Altair climbed down the ladder. She grinned at the glare she received from her friend. "So where to first? The academy?"

"It's best a place as any," he replied as his feet touched the ground. He adjusted his harness to a more comfortable position and walked past her.

"I still don't know how it is that you know these streets so well," Nemo commented. "You don't even live here and you know all the back alleys."

"Maybe it's just a sense of direction."

"You mean you actually don't know where you're going?" she said with a tinge of dubiousness and dropped her shoulders.

"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Rooftops are always useful."

"Yeah, and you have the extreme parkour skills."

"Parkour?"

"Umm…you climb buildings and things with nothing but your body. No harnesses or ropes, just hands and feet."

"I've never heard you use that before…" he trailed off as if in contemplation.

"There's a lot of things I've never used with you before," she paused. "Wait…that came out seriously wrong…." She heard Altair chuckle. With embarrassment, she pulled her hood up and they both walked into the streets, where the smell of burning something pervaded itself throughout the air.

* * *

First of all, the academy didn't look like an academy. Apparently, in the middle ages, academies were more like extremely wide apartment buildings that looked more like a church than anything else, but that's most likely what it was in the first place. A religious academy. Of course…any schools in the middle ages probably didn't have the 'no religious teachings' policy, i.e. no preaching about religions.

Altair motioned to a bench and they both sat down in the blistering heat underneath the cool shade of a date palm that gently blew in the hot and dusty wind. Altair was apparently listening to something very closely that Nemo couldn't distinguish due to all the different noises of the plaza where people never ceased speaking, but she figured that as long as he could hear whatever it was that was important, she would just go along with it.

"But I _cannot_ risk upsetting him," someone said.

"Listen to yourself! You are his puppet," another man voiced. "Come, join us in our fight."

"No; I've a wife and child to feed," he protested.

"Which is _exactly_ why I've come to you."

The two had a silent argument for a moment before they departed, neither of them winning. Altair had his heart set on the one who was carrying a letter and stood up, tacitly ordering Nemo to stay where she was.

He followed the man until he was close enough and snatched the letter from his pouch, hastily walking in the other direction once the man cried, "Thief! There is a thief about!" he began cursing in a rather colorful language and went into complete anguish after noticing that he would upset Jubair.

Sitting down next to Nemo, Altair broke the seal of the letter and began to read it.

"What's it say?" she asked, leaning over, but upon seeing that it was written in Arabic, she resumed to her normal position of sitting.

"He goes to the _Madrasah al-Kalahsah_," he turned the paper over to check if there was anything written on the back. Upon seeing that it was blank, he flipped it back over. "But it doesn't say when, or why." He looked at the list of names at the bottom and realized that they were titles of books, only in a foreign language. With the recollection that Nemo spoke fairly good French, he held the letter out to her and pointed to the titles, saying, "Nemo, is this in French?"

She squinted and had a strange expression. "_Oui_, I think a see a bit of French, but it's practically illegible," she took hold of the letter and studied it. "Yeah, one of them says twenty-three holy bibles. I don't know what _brûler_ means, but I know it's a verb...but I also see 'all of these.' It's a list of books," she handed it back to him.

He slipped it into his pouch and stood up, scanning the crowd for anyone else that might be useful. Upon seeing no one of interest, he started to walk away. He switched his vision to eagle vision and was met with a walking red figure heading their direction. He recognized the distinctive helmet and the red cross sewn to the white robes and stopped in his tracks, grabbing Nemo by the arm again.

"Eh? What's wrong?"

"Walk the other way," he practically dragged her with him. "Quickly."

Right as he finished his sentence, they heard, "_Meurtrier_! _Un assassin_!"

"_Gravement_? _Il y a un _Templar?" Nemo said and turned around, but realized that she should have made the sentence into the plural after seeing that there were at least five Templars walking together in a block of a group.

All at once, they began to run at the two. Altair drew his sword and Nemo felt the urge to shape shift.

The five Templars, who attracted the attention of ten guards standing post who willingly joined in surrounding them, had them stuck as a rock in a hard place. The Templars were much more experienced than the guards and knew not to attack first, so all seventeen beings stood in a still circle, throwing insults here-and-there while attempted to make someone swing the first hit.

"Why is it that whenever things look good, we should run for the hills?" Nemo said.

"_Nous battre_!" one of the Templars bellowed with his sword pointing straight at Altair.

After a few minutes of no one going after the other, Nemo whispered, "How long are we just going to stand here?" she glanced at a dark-skinned man holding his long and seemingly new sword out far in front of him.

Altair lunged from where he was and got one of the Templars out of his defensive stance and managed to stab him in the stomach. That was the signal for the rest to attack and they simultaneously closed in all at once.

Altair ducked as low as he could go to dodge a sword's diagonal swing. With three Templars surrounding him, he felt that familiar, huge amount of stress dump itself in his lungs and went into the instinctive, calm and collective panic. Sure, it's an oxymoron, but it was survivability.

He took several dancing steps with his gracefully swinging sword, blood practically exploding from the arteries he severed that caused brief periods of blood to spray whatever was in its range. He easily dodged another sword and leapt forward, his left wrist being held high and behind himself before he threw it forward with the blade extended, sliding straight into a Templar's heart. The Templar let out a shriek of surprise and went flaccid just as the assassin jumped off of him.

Altair whipped around, his robes following the same smooth movement. The blood was quite literally painted on his sword and his wrist while he stood in a new pool of it. The walls beside himself were sprinkled with the red liquid as the numbers of his opponents increased. He was being forced backwards into an alleyway, where he quickly noted that he was cornered. He remembered that 'a cornered animal is at least twice as dangerous as one that is not,' and he felt himself becoming even more eerily calm. He could feel and hear his heartbeat and his steady breathing as everything suddenly focused on the men in front of him.

"_L'enfeur_," one of the Templars said as they closed him.

Altair didn't know much French, but he knew enough to say, "_Je parle français, aussi_."

Another Templar attempted to sidestep around him but the alleyway was too narrow and he began to attack where he was standing. He broke Altair's defense and quickly brought his sword up to strike. Altair blocked it, diverting it aside with the metal on his bracers. He was taking what was now four men all at once that were attacking simultaneously.

Altair took a fast step back as a sword's tip almost touched his throat. There was a small break in the man's swing that allowed Altair to dispatch him and get one more off of his list. But, as the Templars took slow, cautious steps forward, he was being pushed back until he was almost at the end of the alleyway.

Another man managed to get close to them and they were fighting at an extremely close range. When Altair felt a sharp pain in his right leg, what was once his own instinct turned to his version of 'feral' and he killed the man instantly, then ran forward and caught another Templar on his guard. He apparently surprised the man by his quick, tenacious strikes that weren't giving him any chance to swing and practically gave him any chance at all to block or dodge. Altair finally managed to unbalance the man and avoided the oncoming spray of blood from the his neck.

He was surprised when he felt something grab around his abdomen and yank him off the ground. One moment his feet were planted, the next he was twenty feet in the air. It took him a moment to realize that was Nemo who had him in her arm. "Blasted Templars," she said, running on three legs as she held Altair. "Those guys were too young to die," she voiced as she glided over a large chasm. "Just too damn young to die!" she threw Altair on her back and he clutched onto her fur.

He was becoming quite familiar with the sensation of bouncing up and down while the wind whistled by his ears, pulling off his hood as he felt the pictorial muscles and bones shift underneath himself. He still felt calm as laid down on her back, hanging tightly around her with his arms and legs. The wolf jumped up a good thirty feet in the air and he felt his entire body flatten into hers, and when she fell, he was suspended. Nemo was in control now and he closed his eyes, burying his face in her fur as she got both of them out of the chaos.

Altair suddenly felt all of the stress lift itself off of him. He was surprised that by having someone take over all of the responsibilities, he internally relaxed and just let time pass. He thought it to feel quite strange, especially since this was, for some weird reason, the first time he ever noticed the change.

He snapped himself out of his thoughts when Nemo barked loudly at a few roof guards. Upon seeing the beast, they got out of her way and she proceeded to jump to the next rooftop.

"Nemo, we just need to get out of the area," he said.

"What do you think I'm trying to do? I don't know where to go!"

"Get to the highest building. If they see us, they'll go there. We'll wait a bit before descending and once they reach the top, we won't be there."

"God, I sure do wish I could fly," Nemo said as she rose her head, looking at the nearest, tallest building she could see. She made a sharp turn in its direction and leapt, using her claws to latch onto the rough wall. She ran up it quickly and, after reaching the top, let Altair off of her. "How long should we wait up here?"

"Just a couple minutes," said Altair as he looked over the edge of the building, seeing tiny black dots race in the direction of the building.

Nemo joined him and saw them. She watched for a while before saying, "Hey, how're we suppose to get down? Climb?"

"There's a cart full of hay down at the bottom."

She got the image and said, "No, no no no no! Hell no!"

"It's called a Leap of Faith, Nemo. I'm trained to do them."

"For all you know, there could be rocks or needles or spikes in that 'cart.'"

"You can jump down from this height and survive uninjured, correct?"

"I don't know, mister bad-idea. I've never jumped off of a three hundred foot-tall building before, nor am I a fan of falling to my death. One of the last things that I want to see is-"

"Me, splattering on the ground. Trust me Nemo, I won't." He sauntered over to the edge of the building where an eagle was perched, eyeing him curiously.

Nemo calmed herself and knew that Altair would be able to do the move perfectly and survive. He was, after all, the most badass assassin she'd ever met. Not that she met many assassins to begin with, but still…

Altair got on the perch that the eagle was recently on and stood up, looking down at the ground. Nemo put her paws up on the railing of the three-sixty degree balcony and looked down at the little haystack. The wind blew and Altair flew in an awkward tizzy of white robes that fluttered against himself, whipping wildly in the wind.

"To hell with it," Nemo said and jumped down over to the edge, sliding down the building until she got to another alleyway's side and silently hid herself.

Altair waited in the haystack for a while, his breath taken out of him as he laid there to collect himself. After a few minutes, he swung himself over the edge of the cart and brushed the hay off of himself, looking up at the tall building.

Nemo came bounding up to his side as her human self and said, "Well, your idiotic plan worked. No one's coming now."

"Yes, but now they know that you're here, therefore they also know that I'm here, meaning that the guards will most likely be doubled or tripled everywhere, since they'll now know that someone will be murdered."

"That is true…so all-in-all, just be more cautious?"

"Try to be, anyways."

"How did those Templars even recognize you?" Nemo asked as they began to walk away.

"Unlike the guards, they can tell assassin from scholar by our red sashes," he explained.

"Oh…oh! Well, that makes sense," she quieted down and thought for a moment. "But why the tall building? Why go there instead of just hiding in a haystack or something?"

"It'd take them a while to get up the building, then a while to get down, and they'd loose us very easily."

"Oh…" Nemo mentally slapped herself and put her gaze back to the ground. "Sometimes I just have stupid moments."

"You mean dog moments?"

"Wolf," she said and playfully whacked him on the back of the head, then regretted it when she got several odd stares from people. She crossed her arms and pulled her hood down a little more.

With the adrenaline soothing itself down, and with his mind off of his and Nemo's safety, Altair saw a man dressed in light grey robes nonchalantly sitting on a bench near a fountain with his eyes on the buildings, as if he were waiting for someone.

He nudged Nemo and gestured his head towards the man, recognizing him as an informant. She easily got the idea and silently followed him, ignoring the pain in her body from having to transform from human to wolf and then back to human in such a small amount of time. She even had to throw up whatever was left in her stomach, rendering the foods and starches previously ingested useless at the moment and giving her a soon-to-be bellowing hunger.

Altair sat down next to the man, which quickly got his attention.

"Ahh, Altair! So good to see you," the informant said and turned to him, frowning slightly at the fact that Altair was still facing forward and wasn't looking him in the eyes. Regardless of that, he proceeded to say, "The rafiq said that you were searching or Jubair. I had gone to search for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

"We need to know when Jubair is at the _Madrasah al-Kalahsah_. Can you tell us?" Altair said, still not looking at the man.

"Hmm…that I do actually know, but there is something that I desperately need to do, first," he replied.

"Of course, there always is…" Nemo said with a sigh and sunk down a bit on the bench.

The informant was about to comment about her but Altair said, "Don't mind her. What is it that you need?"

"There is a letter that I must deliver to a master that is out here in the city. He should be near the mosque in the poor district at this time with his student."

"His student?" Altair questioned.

"Yes. He is just familiarizing his student with the city and is teaching him to hide in plain sight, just out in the field. I believe that it is something new Al Mualim is trying out, instead of just doing it in Masyaf the entire time."

Altair thought for a moment. He'd have to take the rooftops in order to find that mosque. "What do they look like?"

"The master should be dressed as you are, Altair, just with the instructor's sash instead. I am unsure of the student, however."

He stood up and Nemo followed as he started to walk away. "Four eyes are better than two," he said. "Once we reach the mosque, there will no doubt be several scholars."

"Well, we'll just look for red, then," Nemo said as Altair started to ascend a ladder, and she followed.

For the walk over there, they dodged as many city guards as possibly and tried to blend in with the crowds as much as they could. That was proving difficult when the streets started to empty themselves as dusk began to set in.

Altair, perched on a rooftop, looked down at the dozens of people below near the mosque. The mosque was generally a round building with a large, greenish-colored dome that indicated it was once shiny copper. The tiny, bar-less windows showed that it was relatively dark inside.

To avoid any suspicion, they climbed down into an alleyway that was out of sight and walked into the crowds of monks and scholars. While one looked one way, the other looked the left, and it took them ten minutes to find the instructor and the student. It turns out that student was probably only thirteen years old and was wearing the beginner's cloak, most likely portraying as a servant or a son.

Altair grabbed the letter from his pouch and got the man's attention by walking up to him, proffering the piece of parchment out to him. The instructor said a greeting and took it, reading through it thoroughly. After a few more seconds, he exchanged a few Arabic words with Altair, who did the same in return, and they both departed from each other.

As they began to return to the informant, Nemo thought about asking him what it was that they said to each other, but then decided not to, figuring that it wasn't important. Either way, they were going to be one step closer to getting at Jubair, whom has apparently been actively lighting books and literature on fire in the streets. Nemo also noted the numbered of people being harassed by his men for the books that they carried, which to say, were mainly scholars.

The informant was still sitting in the same place, with what must have also been the same expression. It was a little difficult to tell from the headpiece that covered the bottom half of his face.

As they approached, he exclaimed while standing up, "Aha! You have it delivered? What did he say?"

Again, Altair spoke in Arabic to the informant. Nemo could have sworn that he was just doing that to irk her.

"Perfect, perfect," the man said. "Now, I believe that you wanted to know when Jubair is at the _Madrasah al-Kalahsah_, correct? Well, he's normally there around midday, usually noon."

"My thanks, friend," Altair said and checked around the plaza for any guards before heading back to the rooftops, where he could then find the bureau.

He was still unsure of his target's motives; why was he burning the books? "How is he purging the city…he couldn't possibly have enough men to do so."

Nemo decided to help him out a bit. "Do you suppose that he's using the city's scholars, then? They have tons of books. With the right words, you can manipulate anybody, and he's been using the right words, I guess."

Altair looked at her. It was very logical and reasonable, and she was probably right. "We'll have to find that out for sure," Altair said and began to jog across the building's rooftop until it ended, then vaulted to the next.

* * *

With further contemplation on Nemo's words, they dropped down into a plaza and walked near a herald whom was giving their ever-famous (and annoying) speeches, except this one's was different. It wasn't about the Crusades, or God, or glory, but it was thankfully about Jubair. Upon examining him from a distance, Altair noticed how muscularly-built he was, and just his sheer height and size would make him a difficult opponent. He couldn't draw his blade on the man; that would risk killing him on accident, even with the assassin's own skill. He decided that if they manage to catch him in some place secluded, he'd have Nemo deal with him. If he gave her direct orders, by nature she'd follow them out exactly. That was also one of the reasons why he likes dogs.

"Nemo," he said as they got close enough to the herald, "we're going to follow him. When no one else is around, you beat him into submission, but don't kill him. Understand?"

"Aye-aye," she responded. "I can do that." Her heart then sank when she remembered that Altair would kill the man anyways. She shook the idea from her thoughts and listened to the herald underneath the blistering sun.

"-by false knowledge, created by wicked men who seek dominion over your minds; locked away, they might still be discovered! But, once burned, these texts can no longer do harm. Jubair sees things the way they truly are! Sees the poison you carry in your hearts and minds, he _works_ to cast it out. Remove all texts from your homes and schools and give them to us. They must be destroyed!"

And with that, the fanatical man stepped down from the podium.

And Nemo was silently enraged at his words. She loves books. She'd read the entire _Harry Potter_ series in nine days after spending fifteen hours a day reading them. She'd go to the school's library and check out twenty books at a time (until the librarians limited the number of books she'd take). She was an avid reader and had a strong passion for books, though she never really talked about it much. So for her to hear someone say the exact words that this herald just did got her very, very angry.

They followed him closely and attempted to not cause anything noticable. They had no idea where this man was going and they were going to get completely lost soon once he entered the western side of the middle district of Damascus; a place where Altair has the most difficulty navigating through.

But alas, after much walking through mazes and labyrinths, the man decided to take an unlucky shortcut.

"Now," Altair whispered to Nemo, and she was gone in a heartbeat.

The man was surprised and was even more surprised when he was slammed into a wall. After a few more seconds of 'beating him up,' he yielded to her and got down on the ground, saying, "Enough, enough! Violence is not the answer, my child!"

"In this we agree," Altair said and casually walked over to them. Nemo was still making sure that he wouldn't get up or try to attack them, so she stood in a threatening stance near him and watched him like a golden retriever stalking a duck to catch. "So speak and I may stay my blade. What is it your master intends? Why destroy all this knowledge?"

"He laid the stones to build the road upon which soon all men will travel. It leads to a better tomorrow."

"That is not what I see."

"You are blind; the words upon these parchments…they are poison! Jubair holds the cure; he'll free us from their lies."

"This is nonsense you speak. You've lost your mind," Altair replied.

"No, not lost, but found. I see the world for what it _truly_ is…he has shown me so much. I am illuminated!"

"Really, because the last time I checked humans aren't bioluminescent unless if they have a lot of phosphorous or is really radioactive, in which they'd been long dead. You're a fanatic," Nemo said. "Stand up," she ordered, grabbing him roughly by the arm and yanking him up onto his feet. The quick move startled him, but he remained where he was, glancing from Nemo and then to Altair. With their positions around him, he was surrounded and cornered at the same time. "Now, may you please tell us, is he using scholars to gather the books?"

"Yes, he is," the herald said. "I am a scholar, and I see all of these lies, false realities…you can do as you must. It changes nothing. We are not afraid."

"You should be," Altair ended and drove his hidden blade into the man's body, listening to a gasp of shock.

They quickly left the area.

"So he's using the scholars to gather and burn the books," Altair said. "The scholars are the main people that have access to books, and we've seen the amount of one burning pile. Since they are purging the city, at this rate, all of the books in Damascus will be gone in two days from now, no doubt."

"We already missed our chance to get him today," Nemo said. "We'll have to get to him early tomorrow in the afternoon.

"This is beyond a crime. This is an atrocious abomination. With those books burned before they can be copied, much important knowledge will be lost forever."

"Which also means that these books, when they're ancient, won't be able to be studied by people in the future. We already have a plan, and it's not our fault that couldn't get to him today. We'll just have be patient."

"I know," Altair said and saw a group of apprehensive guards walking by. He guided himself and Nemo into a large crowd of moving people and went with the current until they could get onto a ladder that they then used to gain access to the rooftops. With the rooftops, they were able to find their way back to the bureau.

* * *

"What news, Altair?" the rafiq asked and turned his back to the books he had displayed on a shelf.

"Jubair has become obsessed with cleaning the city of it's knowledge," he replied.

The usually friendly and cheerful rafiq quickly turned grave at the news. "That's terrible. I can see why Al Mualim wants him gone."

"He using the city's scholars to assist him. They go out into the streets, forcing the people to give them all of their written works, all of their books, their scrolls…then he burns them. I fear he will destroy them all."

The rafiq started slowly pacing and was quiet for a moment before exclaiming, "He must be stopped!"

"That's why we're here. He arrives at the _Madrasah al-Kalahsah_ every day around noon. We'll take his life there, while he's distracted."

"The rafiq reached down underneath the counter and grabbed a feather, holding it out to Altair, who was quick to take it. "Bring glory to the brotherhood, my friends," he said in a low voice.

Upon following Nemo into the adjacent room, Altair said, "Nemo, what was it that you were talking about earlier?"

"Hmm?" she voiced as she sat down among the pillows.

"Phosfer-radio…something. What was that?"

"Oh, um…phosphorous is an element that glows without heat after being exposed to and then removed from some sort of electromagnetic radiation."

He gave her a blank stare.

"Umm…it's an element that glows on its own. Bioluminescent creatures are living things that can glow."

"Creatures that…glow? In the dark? What animals do that?"

"Fireflies, anglerfish, glow worms, certain squids, bamboo coral…things like that."

"I think I only know what a firefly is, out of all the animals you just said."

"Um…oh dear…I'm bad at explaining things. Um…"

So, out of all other things they could have been doing, she wound up explaining bioluminescence and radiation, and Altair discovered what's at the bottom of the ocean.

* * *

**Hehe, how many of you knew that Nemo is scientific? She's loves science :3**

**The majority of people during the middle ages weren't really that intelligent. Most of us would be speaking a foreign language to them if we ever spoke about science, or arithmetic, or calculus. Makes me wonder if I'd be stabbed with by a fork (knife; they also didn't use forks back then), or if I'd actually intrigue them in something XD Hopefully it'd be the latter. But only Malik and the rafiq of Damascus would probably listen XP**

**And I do know that the little science thing Nemo said was unnecessary...I just felt like writing it down anyways :P**

**Anyway, I suppose that there's not much more for me to say about this. Please forgive any mistakes you find ^^; I'm quite tired as I'm proofreading this. I guess that school has a tendancy to burn me out sometimes.**


	21. Smoke

**Ugh, I have been just dang slow on this story that it is just unbelievable! I've been rather busy lately and I've been going to bed about an hour earlier than usual, cutting down my typing time, but I need the sleep! Sleep is good...and so is food...**

**And why does school have to start at 7:20? At least it's not six o'clock…**

* * *

Altair decided when it was time to leave and the two stepped out of the bureau to the _Madrasah al-Kalahsah_.

It being Damascus, the day was dusty and dry and hot with a blistering sun and scorching wind. Why oh why, dear gods and goddesses of this world, must Syria be so blistering hot, with the only relief being the intermittently-planted trees that were deemed more as a mere decoration than a useful tool of that oh-so comforting shade? But no, no. Instead the only other source of shade were the buildings themselves, and one dared not to touch the walls of the buildings exposed to that brilliant, blinding sun, for no doubt you'd erupt into flames and incinerate the very instance that one, tiny, diminutive appendage made physical contact with the inanimate object.

But, with the white robes, Altair didn't feel quite as hot as the men and women wearing the dark-colored clothes, such as browns and dark blues. So with the protection of the robes worn soft over the years of use, getting to the destination was easy. Nemo may have been extremely uncomfortable but she wouldn't let herself be left behind.

The _Madrasah al-Kalahsah_ reminded Altair much of Abu'l Nuquod's former palace. It was large and elaborate and obviously didn't want anybody inside, considering the sheer number of guards patrolling around it, as well as the ones on the rooftops and any other entrances. There was also a large plume of smoke rising from the building's inner courtyard that was similar to the other street fires all around the city.

Nemo balled her sleeve into her hand and rose her hand to her nose, saying, "I can't stand the smell of smoke."

"We've got larger problems than that," Altair said without looking at her, gazing up at the guards peering over the rooftops. "It'll be difficult to get up."

"It's always difficult to get up to," Nemo retorted and urged him forward. "But I think there's a spot in the back that has a current breakage of guards. I noticed it on the way over here."

"Are you sure?"

"No, I'm not sure, but it's worth checking. Guards may have just been trading places, but there's always a way to get up a rooftop. Or at least inside of the building."

"We could break in, but there's no telling who's inside."

"Again, I wish I could fly."

Once they reached the back end of the building, Nemo had been correct, and there were no guards on the eastern corner of the building. For precaution, Altair waited for any patrols to come around the back, and as he expected, a whole platoon of them did. He figured that he and Nemo had about three minutes to get to the top, which was going to be slightly difficult. On the adjacent buildings were more archers that would most likely spot them, and not only that, but the _Madrasah al-Kalahsah_ had intermittently placed footholds that were already small to begin with. One slip and he'd have to be scraped up off of the desert floor.

He decided that it would be easier to rid the other buildings of their archers before scaling the _Madrasah al-Kalahsah_.

Quietly scampering up the building, Altair snuck behind an archer and slid his blade into his chest while covering his mouth. When the man went limit, he eased down his body and quickly dragged him out of the sight in case the second archer turned in his direction. Once he 'stashed' the body by dropping it into a cart full of hay, he returned to the second archer and threw a knife.

It hit the walking archer in the stomach and he folded over, staggering for a moment before collapsing. Altair picked the man up bridal-styled and threw him down into an alleyway to make it look as if he simply slipped and fell.

Altair stepped onto a wooden beam running from one building to the next and sprinted across it before stabbing another archer in the neck and catching up with another. He was successful with clearing one area and silently climbed down a ladder to make it seem as if he was simply just a man doing work on a rooftop. With nobody realizing the recent murders, he nonchalantly met back up with Nemo, who had a small amount of blood on the side of her face that she hastily wiped off.

"You _should_ be good," Nemo began, "but we can't really do much about the guys that are most likely on the inside."

"We'll adapt," Altair said and began to climb the building.

Once he reached the top after slipping a few times due to the unnatural amount of sand that collected on the sides over the years, he and Nemo quickly got down into a sheltered area that was already five stories above the ground. It was a sort of enclosed balcony that gave a full view of the courtyard and was blocked off by a thin latticework with vines overgrowing on the edges.

Down below was, as expected, a huge roaring fire burning dozens and dozens of books all at once. There were people-scholars-dressed in blue robes with golden lining, along with indigo hoods that covered most of their faces. The men were throwing books into the fires as another man came striding at an amazingly fast pace. "Every single one of these texts must be destroyed!" he bellowed.

The men turned their gazes toward him for a moment, completely oblivious of Altair and Nemo watching and listening from the uppermost balcony. They were hidden by the latticework and vines and were in shadows, so they were practically invisible with their distance and height included.

"Please, my friend, you mustn't do this!" Some poor, poor yet brave soul stepped in front of Jubair and blocked him from walking any further. "These words and knowledge, our ancestors wrote them for good reasons."

Jubair, behind his hood, had an immediate scowl. He rose his hand as if he was about to hit the man, but stopped him at the last moment. He said, "What reason is this?"

"They're beacons, they're meant to guide us, meant to save us from the darkness that it ignorance."

"These bits of paper are covered in lies!" he extravagantly gestured to the fire. "You can't even hope to see the world as it is as long as these books exist." He walked by the scholar, but the man was persistent and went back into his path.

Altair watched with keen eyes and agreed with the scholar as he said, "How can you accuse these scrolls of being weapons? They're tools of learning, my friend."

"You turn to them for answers and salvation. You rely more upon them than yourselves. That makes you weak and stupid, 'friend.' You trust in drops of ink."

Damn right, we trust in drops of ink, Nemo thought to herself. You know what? We also trust in non-crazy people who think rationally and won't go around flaunting with their strange clothes. Seriously, when will I finally meet a guy who isn't a transvestite?

The two bickered for a while longer. Jubair was getting more and more frustrated at the tenacious man and once the scholar came around to block his path again, he relaxed and a strange smile formed on his face as he said, "So you love these books?"

"Yes."

"You would do anything for them?"

"Y…yes, my friend."

"Then join them!" Jubair roughly pushed the scholar into the fire.

The man screamed and flailed as the fire burnt his clothes surprisingly quickly. He died quickly after due to the inhalation of the fire and smoke that must have instantly burnt his airways.

"Anyone else who speaks as he is just as much a threat," Jubair said and addressed the other scholars that were wide-eyed with surprise. "Do any else among you wish to challenge me?"

As expected, his answer was silence.

"Good. Your orders are simple enough. Go out into the city. Collect any remaining writings and add them to the fires in the streets. We'll send a cart to collect them, that they may be destroyed."

All of the scholars left and Jubair followed them. The entrance doors were closed and the only way out was the way back in.

Nemo and Altair were both shocked at what Jubair just committed and now had another reason to rid him and his scholars. There had been five in total, including Jubair, though it now seems that Altair has several targets instead of just one.

"This is not going as I had planned," Altair stated.

"When does it ever? No freebee running I see," Nemo said and looked at the body in the fire that was now beginning to cook. She recoiled slightly at it. "So now that you have five people to get, what should I do?"

"Come with me. You're not totally useless, you know."

"Gee thanks, Miss Werewolf, one of the world's most rarest species of animals, at your disposal, Mr. Assassin."

Somehow her sarcasm brought a smile to his face despite the grimness of what just happened.

* * *

Altair knew that in order to find the scholars, and ultimately Jubair, he had to follow the smoke plumes. They were easy enough to find against the bright-blue sky but the scholars most likely had protection while they preached to people about the books.

Altair decided that it was safer to reach them by rooftop, and after a few minutes of sprinting, he found the first scholar. He was in an enclosed area that had two archers atop and two guards guarding the entrance. There was a crowd of people listening to what he was saying and didn't see Altair.

Altair told Nemo to stay were she was and he perched himself on a beam high above the archers that would think to look anywhere but up. He threw a knife and disappeared out of sight before it hit the blue-robed scholar. When he heard a large choir of screams, he signaled with his hand for Nemo to come and they hastily started to make their way to the next plume of smoke. But, with the man assassinated while he had four guards on patrol in a secured location, news was going to spread quickly and patrols were soon to increase.

They couldn't waste any time, and with more and more books being burned, Altair ordered Nemo to seek out two of the scholars on the eastern side of Damascus and kill them silently without arousing any suspicion. She took off quickly and they both started to run in opposite directions. Altair hated it whenever he had to rush to do a mission. And to think, instead of rushing to save someone's life, he was rushing to save books. Definitely not something on his 'kick the bucket' list.

Altair found a scholar that he was looking for and took out a throwing knife, watching it sail straight through the air and stick itself into the man's back. He let out a yelp before falling to the ground, and the crowd began to flee from the scene. He escaped before the guards looked in his direction and now decided to go to the last man, whom was most likely Jubair. It was the last smoke signal in western Damascus and he sprinted to it, seeing that it was an open area this time. There were at least fifty people surrounding the area while Jubair, as Altair saw, addressed the crowd and spoke loudly to them. Three guards were standing around a burning cart, to the left, and the center to protect Jubair. Three more archers were above him, and two where Altair was heading.

Altair dove into a roof garden and waited for the archer to pass. When he saw a shadow against the cloth covering the garden, he reached out and swiftly grabbed the man around the waist, stabbing him in the back while he dragged him into the garden out of sight. He waited in silence to hear if the other archer saw or her heard him, but upon there being the repetitive noise of human footsteps, he got out from the garden and approached him from behind. When he was close enough, he stealth assassinated him and kicked him off the roof into a secluded street to get him out of the way more than to avert attention elsewhere.

With the other three archers not being able to see him due to the fact that he was now hidden behind a crane that supported a few piece of wood near a scaffolding, Altair took out another throwing knife and sent it flying through the air. As he had expected, it hit the Jubair straight in the gut.

At first no one seem to notice until Jubair let out a funny-sounding noise and gripped the knife. When they did notice, they all evacuated, and the guards went onto high alert. The other three archers got their bows ready and the guards below stood in a defensive stance.

Altair nearly jumped when he heard loud barking from a distance. The guards below and the archers all started running in one direction and Altair grinned to himself. "Nemo, you wolf," he muttered, thinking it rather clever of her to cause a distraction for his convenience.

With the once-busy area now empty, he leapt down and walked to Jubair, whom was now laying on the ground on his back with a large pool of blood beginning to form. He was still alive and was in shock with a wide-eyed expression, his hands were suspended in the air around the knife as if he wasn't quite sure what to do. He managed to squeak out the word 'why.'

"It isn't right to punish someone for thinking what they do, no matter how much we disagree," Altair responded, kneeling down to the man.

"Then what?"

"You of all people should know the answer," he said and now heard distance yells of people. Nemo must have gone into the streets, either that or collected half of the city's guards. "Educate them; teach them right from wrong. It's knowledge that frees them, not force."

"They don't learn…they are naïve, fixed in their ways…" he started to cough up blood and was having difficulty to stay awake.

"You're wrong," Altair replied.

"Am I not unlike these precious books you seek to save? A source of knowledge in which you disagree, yet you're rather quick to steal my life."

"A small sacrifice to save many."

Jubair smiled a bit and started talking about the Crusaders and their books, and how they 'leave death in their wake.' Quite frankly, the assassin was surprised that Jubair could even talk as much as he was. After a moments, he said, "It doesn't matter now…your deed is done, and so is mine…"

"Hang on a little longer. There is something else I must ask you before you go."

"What is it?"

"Do you know anything about wolves? About wolves being guardians?"

He coughed up a little more blood and grinned a toothy smile, saying, "_Wolves_? Heh, you'll see on the night of the lunar eclipse…when your precious guardian makes the bond…."

"What eclipse? What bond?

But Jubair died before he could answer. Altair closed the man's eyes and smeared the bird feather in his blood, then recognized his own frustration and put a scowl on his face.

The new visage was soon wiped away when Nemo came sprinting back and, as usual, she grabbed him and flung him on her back again.

Altair was troubled, to say the least. He wouldn't confront Nemo with whatever this strange new matter was, no; he would save that for later. If she knew something about a 'lunar eclipse,' no doubt she'd have told him. She's also never hinted anything about anything special, such as the bizarre mentioning of a bond, or a guardian. Sure, Nemo was protective of her friends and would do practically anything to save them-such is the nature of canines among their close ones-and she has bonded very closely to her friends, but Altair knew that Jubair meant 'bond' in a different sense, with a different purpose. But what he and Sibrand meant by their strange words baffled him. Maybe Al Mualim knows.

* * *

That Piece of Eden Al Mualim holds to closely to himself…if it really does have all of the power he claims it to have, then maybe he knows something about wolves. Should he ask him when he returns to Masyaf this time? Should he ask him after all of the targets are destroyed? There is only one more; Robert de Sable. He wouldn't have to wait long, surely, but even with the amount of patience that he's learned to gain over the past four months or so, he wouldn't know how long it would be for it to really irk him. He knew it was important, he knew that it was something special. He knew that werewolves are more than Nemo knows, but he doesn't know why. Altair realized that every time he kills, only more and more questions pile upon each other. The more he asks for answers, the more confused he is. Al Mualim made riddles, difficult ones, at that, and hesitates to answer. It took him three months to get one answer out of the man, and he might not even know anything about wolves or the matter. That only frustrated him even more as he ate the couscous that the rafiq served.

While they ate dinner, even though the rafiq and Nemo were speaking, Altair only heard their voices, not their words. He was too lost in thought to think about their sentences. He even missed Nemo say his name three times while he drank from his cup.

"Yo, Alty!" Nemo said and flailed her left arm extravagantly at him.

He flicked his eyes to her.

"Wow, talk about oblivious. You okay?"

He gave her an odd look. "Of course I am alright. Why?"

"Wow, I didn't know you get that absent-minded. I just called your name thrice." She leaned back in her chair.

"I was just thinking, that's all," replied Altair as he took another sip from his cup.

"Eh, that's typical," the werewolf said and spooned at the couscous.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Nemo, where you ever a…guardian?"

"A guardian of what?"

"Markoh? The other dogs?"

"Markoh was my guardian, technically. If I didn't have parents he'd eventually become my legal guardian. The dogs were just my friends. Why?"

"I was just thinking about something, that's all."

Her gaze narrowed at him. "I don't believe you…again. You always look like you're troubled about something." She spooned at the couscous again.

Altair paused in thought.

"Well? Are you?"

"I…never mind." He saved himself from even more awkwardness than the situation got him into by serving him a couple more spoonfuls of the rice-like food.

Nemo rolled her eyes and continued with the meal. She switched her thoughts to their next inevitable target; Robert de Sable, in Jerusalem. From there, things will either go uphill or downhill. She was already beginning to have the thoughts about Al Mualim after Robert falls, and what he will attempt to do to Altair. She was thinking that she'd probably die in the process of the entire last boss-battle. That'd be scary.

* * *

_The corndog played a violin to hundreds and hundreds of bottles of ketchup and mustard while a T-bone steak was screaming something in Finnish at a gothic-dressed waffle. The chicken nuggets in the corner were head banging until all the crusty goodness was shaken off of them and nothing was exposed but white meat as the marinated pickles flaunted around with their mini-skirts as the nightclub's 'fog,' made from dry ice, filled the floor. Blue strobe lights caused the psychotic salami to put on a hockey mask while starting a chainsaw and he started sawing all of the tables in half, in doing so causing the nightclub to really have its name apply to itself; Pandemonium (it was a dream). But alas, just as the FBI-as in Federal Bacon Industry-broke down the doors to deliver pancakes to all of the shrimp, there was an earthquake, and the ground sudden fell beneath from everything's…bottoms. And, just as they were all descending into the pits of a fiery inferno…_

"Wake up," Altair ordered, shaking her a little harder.

With a scowl, Nemo opened her eyes at him. "I'm awake, you moron," She said sluggishly and took in a deep breath, sitting upright. She began thinking of a line from 'The Simpson's' and decided to relate it to Altair, thinking, 'I'm going to kill you, bury you in a shallow grave, then raise you from the dead so that I can kill you again. That was such an awesome dream that I was having.'

The sun was barely beginning to rise. She yawned and pinched the bridge of her nose as Altair threw her a piece of what she guess to have been uncooked mutton. She quietly thanked him and tiredly ate the bloody meat, and they both left the bureau with the rafiq probably still asleep upstairs.

The plus with leaving as early as they did was that nobody was out in the streets, and all of the guards were on the rooftops, so they were allowed to quickly make it to the front gates. They snuck by the guards and voila, 'tis freedom on the range, granted Crusaders don't try to march over them.

Or chase them, in that matter.

They reached Masyaf at what must have been about seven at night. Altair actually looked confident; there was a strange straightness to his stride. He must have felt much accomplishment after successfully killing eight of the nine targets. With one left, there was probably nothing that was going to stop him now. He had gotten too far and would hurdle himself through sharp-pointed obstacles if he had to. But maybe one of the main equations in that would be the undying loyalty he has towards Al Mualim...

Al Mualim usually looked wide awake whenever they saw him, but today he looked really bashed up, complete with dark rings underneath his eyes. He seemed to glare at Nemo for a moment before looking at Altair, and stood up. The man looked beyond tired, but at the thought that one of the names could be scratched off of his list, his visage changed to one of a proud father. "My student…my boy…we are close," he said. "Robert de Sable is now all that stands between us and victory. With him dies the knowledge of the Templar treasure, and any threat he might pose."

"I still don't understand how a simple bit of treasure could cause so much chaos," said Altair.

"It is temptation given forth," Al Mualim said and walked around his desk to its front. "Merely look at what it's done to Robert; once he tasted its power, the thing consumed him." He looked at Nemo and kept his gaze on her as he continued saying, "It is not a dangerous weapon to be destroyed, but a tool, one that would help him realize his life's ambition…and something much more."

"He dreamed of power, then?" Altair asked.

Al Mualim took his gaze off of Nemo. "Yes, I know…he dreams and he still dreams…like us, of peace."

"But this is a man who sought to see the Holy Land consumed by war."

"No, Altair; how can you not see when _you're_ the one that opened my eyes to this?"

"What do you mean?"

"He and his followers want a world in which all men are united. I do not despise his goal, I share it, but the means are the issue. Peace is embraced, my boy…"

"He'd force it," Altair said.

"And rob us of our freewill in the process."

"Strange…to think of him in this way."

"Never harbor hate for you victims, Altair; such thoughts are poison, and will cloud your judgment. I spoke to him in my way, through you and Nemo, but he has chosen to ignore us."

"Then there's only one thing left to do."

"Jerusalem is where you'll find and face him. Let this final offering give you strength…and tomorrow, you shall go. It's time to finish this."

This guy really is an idiot, Nemo thought to herself. The looks that he gave her definitely indicated something. Did he mean that Robert wanted _her_ as a weapon? That the Templars knew something about werewolves and wanted her on their side? Or was he hinting something else…that _he_ was using her as a weapon? She wanted to slap herself in the face. Of course she was being used as a weapon! Altair was the pawn, and so was everybody else. Altair used her as a weapon too, which she didn't mind considering how useful she could be at times…except the 'side effects' of her personality…but Altair was different. He was her friend, but Al Mualim…well, things weren't going to go very good, that was definite. After this next week is over with, she'd get to see who killed who.

She would also see Altair's heart break.

* * *

Altair began to walk back to his room with his newly-cleaned clothes bundled up in his right arm. He was wearing brown pants tucked into leather boots and a green tunic with a red sash tied around his waist. He eyed a bird that fluttered nearby and listened to it chirp before it flew off with another bird and out of sight. He sighed and put his eyes back on the ground. Something just wasn't right.

'_Something just wasn't right_?' Of course, none of this seemed right. Only from the start did the killings seem just. Through time, his target's words made him really contemplate. Now he was utterly confused and in a turmoil over everything. Several months ago he had just been executed in front of the entire Brotherhood by Al Mualim, and somehow Al Mualim either brought him back to life or did one of his weird tricks. A week later he met a creature that honestly really shouldn't exist. A week after that, he started to become troubled by his target's words. A week after that, things began to go out of control in a sense. All of his targets claimed that what they were doing was right, and that they were both the same since both believed in what they were doing. At first he didn't believe it-he didn't want to-but he slowly began to realize that since he and his targets do believe that what they're doing is just, they are the same.

So that would make him a hypocrite, but if he was saving hundreds and possibly even thousands of lives by killing a few, wouldn't he be better? Wouldn't _he_ be the one who is just? But no, the Assassins and the Templars had the same goal; peace in all things, end of all wars. But 'violence begets violence,' does it not? How can peace possibly be achieved through war, through murdering, through bloodshed? More importantly, who's going to be the winner in the outcome? If the Assassins win, they'll have their way, and change won't go in the direction that the Templars want. But if the Templars win, then what? What change would they bring? Would Altair survive the change, or would he have to flee, or stand and fight? Would Masyaf-the home of the Templars' main enemy-fall, and if Masyaf was wiped from the world, then what would he do? Escape and live elsewhere?

But that didn't seem right. They were working to stop the Templars from having their way, for if they did, then thousands upon thousands of people would die, and their freewill would also be killed in the process. At least that's what he believed.

There's was too many things to think about and far too many variables in every single situation that his brain just shut down and he pinched the bridge of nose, leaning back against a wall. He opened his eyes and stared at the wall adjacent from him, imagining it burning or broken to the ground, possibly with a few bodies beneath it. Yes, that is what he was preventing. That was precisely it.

So Robert was in Jerusalem, that's where he'd go, and that's where he would find out the truth about everything. Go there, listen to Malik bicker with him, and this entire thing would be over with. That's the plan now.

And the following morning, while preparing Seema, he couldn't help but notice the fact that he almost didn't want to go. Oh, how he had grown in the past few months. He realized his past arrogance, the haughtiness that he had blind to, and he finally saw all of it. How his damn pride had cursed him. Maybe things would be better now, when he breaks the Templars, and when he can have a normal life.

Pft, _normal_? What part of any of this is normal?

Seema neighed loudly and attempted to rear, startled by a rat that scampered by her hooves. Altair shushed her and spoke to her in a quiet voice, gently stroking her snout to calm her. The frightened expression in her eyes subsided and he let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want to be kicked by a horse ever again. In fact, he had several bad experiences with horses, including being bucked off, kicked, stepped on, nearly trampled, eaten by (why did they like assassin hoods?), and a few other unthinkable things. At least, after he punched Seema, she never tried to eat his robes again…

The white stallion didn't waste any time in walking out of her stall and followed Altair into the blinding sunlight. Fath and Nemo were behind him and were apparently having a full-fledged conversation with each other. They walked to those gigantic wooden gates of Masyaf and quickly rode off to Jerusalem.

Altair caught himself becoming distracted again and focused on the hilly path. It was always a long haul for the horses, but they always managed to get through the tough terrain.

* * *

_So this is the last man?_ Fath asked.

Nemo was talking softly to the horse to prevent Altair from hearing. He was thankfully riding in front of her as they ran towards Jerusalem, which was now coming into view. "Yeah, just this guy, but what he doesn't know is that it won't be him."

_Why? Will someone replace him?_

"Yeah." Nemo slowed down Fath as Seema went to a walking pace. They all put on low profiles as guards and small groups of soldiers walked past them. Masses of people were leaving Jerusalem all at once and made swerving around them rather difficult.

When they reached the stables, they managed to sneak past the guards by blending in with a group of merchants that were entering. The guards were wary of everyone and were being careful with whom they let into the city or not. One of them even started bickering with an innocent scholar and made up quite a scene when he threatened to kill him and took out his sword to show that he was serious.

Nemo felt somewhat excited at seeing Malik again. It'd been a few weeks and he was probably still working on his maps, which to Nemo, always seemed like a strange hobby. Since the loss of his arm he couldn't possibly work as an assassin, so being a bureau leader and a cartographer is a good fallback.

The moment they strode in, Malik surprised both of them by saying, "Safety and peace, Altair and Nemo."

"Upon you as well," Altair replied.

"It seems fate has a funny way with things."

"So it's true, then? Robert de Sable is in Jerusalem."

"I've seen the knights myself."

"Only misfortune follows that man. If he's here it's because he intends ill. I won't give him the chance to act."

"Do not let vengeance cloud your thoughts, brother. We both know no good can come of it."

"I've not forgotten. You've nothing to fear; I do not seek revenge, but knowledge."

"Truly you are not the man I once knew," Malik said and made a gesture with his hand.

"My work has taught me many things, revealed secrets to me…but there are still pieces of this puzzle I do not possess."

"What do you mean?"

"All the men we've laid to rest have worked together, united by this man. Robert has desires upon the land, this much I know for certain, but how and why, when and where. These things remain out of reach."

"Crusaders and Saracens working together?" Malik said and started to slowly pace back and forth behind the counter, how he and the other rafiqs usually do. Maybe their lack of open space made them want to move around a bit?

"They are none of these things, but something else; Templars."

"The Templars are a part of the Crusader army," Malik said, almost reasoning.

"Or so they like King Richard to believe. No, their only allegiance is to Robert de Sable and some mad idea that they will stop the war."

"It's been a strange day."

"You have no idea, Malik." Nemo said, loving the look she got from Altair. She loved taking the exact words right out of his mouth.

"Can you tell us where they've been seen?" Altair asked. "We should be after him before he slips away."

Okay, so another three places; a hospital, a church, and a guard tower. They should hopefully be easy enough to find, but probably not nearly as easy as gigantic plumes of smoke. Those nice little indicators are going to be greatly missed.

"We'll be as quick as we can," Altair said.

"Stay safe, my friends," Malik said and looked back down at his map.

Outside, Altair asked Nemo, "How did you do that?"

"How'd I do what?"

"I'm pretty sure there's been more than one encounter I've had with you saying precisely what I was about to say, even thinking."

"Eh, I just do that sometimes. It tends to freak people out."

"How do you do it?"

"Maybe I just know you too well."

He looked at her. "Well, quite frankly, it does…'freak' me out."

"All in a day's work," she said and made a gesture with her arms. "So, where to first?"

"We'll try the church southwest of here. Once this is all over, well…"

"Well what?"

"I don't know what'll happen after this."

"Ugh, when do we ever?"

Altair walked into the street and looked around for a moment. He could see the very tip of a church in the background and started to make his way towards it.

* * *

**Again, another seriously late chapter. BY A MONTH AND A HALF. I apologize.**

**And I especially apologize for this rambling chapter. Some of them, instead of going in a straight line, just seem to bounce all over the place like a kangaroo high on sugar. I think I need to work on my plot-inventing and not-making-chapters-so-flippy-floppy, I'm sure most of you can agree. I'm just a mere novice! Waaah…**

**P.S. Isn't that awesome dream that Nemo had? XD**


	22. An Unexpected Chase

**…**

* * *

However a good or bad day could go, today's score could easily be deemed as bouncy as a kangaroo high on cocaine. First of all was the weather; it was cloudy. Sure, the shade is nice, but the odds of the startling lightning hitting the rocks and making them explode like bombs just outside of the city wall would be enough to send lions back into their dens of the jungle (pardon the stereotype). No rain, no wind, no sun, just darkness, grey clouds, and loud BOOMS with bright flashes that sounded like fireworks exploding on the ground. Oh yes, yes oh yes, why not also mention the frightened horses that were going up for auction that got loose? Yes, what a fine treat on the utmost perfect day in the history of perfect days. Those horses went on a rampage and trampled over a couple people, but thankfully, no was harmed.

Except for a guard. People were worrying that he might go home in a box.

But aside from the stampeding horses, dangerous electrical explosions, and crazy people running amok because they believe it's the end of the world, work had to continue to discovering Robert's location.

Altair never did like lightning. It's not the lightning itself that startled him, it's the unpredictable, deafening boom that follows. If it was any ordinary target he was chasing after, he'd have waited the next day, but Robert might leave at any moment. They surely wouldn't be having the funeral of Majd Addin today; it must have been postponed to some other day, hopefully tomorrow. He felt a bit of stress relieved from his shoulders at the thought that he'd have the whole day to search again; with a funeral, it could have been at any time, and Robert probably doesn't have any plans to stay long. He wondered why Robert would even be going to this man's funeral when he most likely didn't go to the others. It was strange that he would put himself in a vulnerable position like this.

There was a large flash of lightning and Nemo quickly covered her ears, just in time before the earsplitting role hit them. Altair wasn't as fortunate and had his ears ringing. That bolt was literally over their heads. "I hate lightning," he grumbled to himself.

"I hate the thunder. The lightning I'm fine with." Nemo said and uncovered her ears. "Well, look at the bright side. Majd Addin's funeral's been postponed, Robert is staying longer…hopefully…and we've got more time on our paws."

"Granted Robert doesn't just leave." Altair said and took a turn in an alleyway as a shortcut.

"Why would he do that?"

"Maybe he has more important things. Maybe Majd Addin was just slightly important to him personally."

"Perhaps." Nemo walked around a stack of wooden crates and had her heart jump when a rat ran out from underneath it. She calmed herself down quickly just as they walked out in front of the church.

_Church_? More like cathedral freakin' masterpiece. When people say that the church reaches up to the heavens, they must literally mean it when they saw this behemoth of a structure. Nemo wondered what New York City would be like if she thought that this church was monstrous.

Hmmm…what _would_ good ol' NYC be like?

The thought left her when they finally managed to find a herald preaching near the church. He was European and was wearing a brown robe with a wooden cross around his neck. More importantly, people were giving him hateful stares and glares. They quickly found out why.

"…there is no evil in their hearts," the man said. "And so we must seize this opportunity, learn from them, to make amends. Together, we might finally bring truth of the promise of peace."

Altair crossed his arms and looked at Nemo, who made a small 'this guy is crazy' gesture by spinning her finger around in a few circles beside her head. He looked back to the herald and listened closely. Alright…he was just saying to welcome the people that having been killing everyone.

"We must be strong, we must be brave, and we must find the courage to face those we once called our enemies and now instead call them _friends_. The Crusaders come to Jerusalem, bringing with them an opportunity to end the fighting, to stop the war, that we may stand as one, we must not turn them away-" He was cut off from a loud crack of thunder and decided to step down.

Welcoming the Crusaders? No wonder people were looking angrily at him. When Jerusalem had been taken over about a hundred year prior, they chased Islamic men and women throughout the streets and murdered them. They even culled the Jewish into temples and burned them, and the Crusaders are still killing everyone with some mad idea that they are still going to a place called Heaven. Let's see…murder, rape, theft, assault, arson…and they still believed in being unpunished. Look at how good the Code of Chivalry system's gone. Maybe the indulgences of the Pope really just gets to their heads.

But this man was correct in some ways. Yes, if everyone welcomed each other, there'd be much to learn from the other, but no one would be willing to give open arms to a burglar, never mind someone wanting to take over their lands and homes. And the Crusaders were wondering why people wanted them all to just go in a hole and die.

Altair followed him behind and did the usual wait-and-punch. It was rather pathetic, actually. The man didn't even know how to fight and submitted very easily, much to Altair's convenience.

The man backed up and hit the wall with a frightful look in his eyes. He realized that he was trapped.

"You speak of peace but your words are hollow," Altair said.

"I speak the truth!" He said. Bellowed, rather. "And I've nothing to say to you, why does it matter?"

"You're a Templar," Altair said, looking at a small red cross dangling from his belt. The man noticed and hid it with his sleeve, though it wouldn't have done much good.

"So I am." He said.

"Then you are also a liar and a fraud, just like your master. Where is he? What does he intend?"

"I will say no more," he said.

"If you do not tell me, I'll be forced to use other methods." Altair threatened. The man kept his mouth shut.

He gave a strong blow to the man's stomach and he doubled over, then he grabbed onto his head turned it to the side, slamming him into a wooden crate. The man let out a couple squeaks of pain and squeezed his eyes shut as Altair was practically crushing his head while pinning him where he was. He said in the man's ear, "Tell me where Robert de Sable is, and what he also intends."

The man spat and smiled, showing his yellow, compacted, rotting teeth. "You can't get anything out of me," he said. "Not even a chance!"

The next five minutes were spent with Altair practically beating the man to death periodically, but no matter what he did, the man was stubborn and absolutely refused to say anything. Was he really that dedicated?

So he wasn't getting any information out of the man. His methods weren't working, and he was no torturer. Sure, he defied the Assassin's Creed at times, but like the Ten Commandments, there are exceptions. If you accidentally kill someone by falling off a roof and landing on a profoundly unfortunate person, it's not the same thing as murdering. Sometimes Altair had to do things in a more dirty matter for the sake of the mission.

The bloodied man laughed and mocked at him, claiming his own physical stamina and loyalty to the Templars to be too strong for Altair to break it.

Altair stood up and looked at the beaten person. He turned his gaze over to Nemo, who had her arms crossed, staring rather blankly at the blood. She flicked her eyes up to him. Before he could say anything, she voiced, "What do you want me to do about it?"

He gave her a look that said 'anything.'

She bit her bottom lip. Her gut was telling her not to; she remembered exactly where Robert de Sable was. However, she didn't know at what time.

When Altair turned his back, she shuffled out of her clothes and took on her beloved wolf form.

The moment the herald saw the creature, his stubborn smile disappear and he had terror in his eyes. He tried to back up from the snarling, growling wolf with ridged fur but apparently forgot that he was already cornered. He started mumbling a prayer to himself and got to his knees, technically bowing in front of her.

Her expression went plain and switched to one of bewilderment. "Jeez, they do this to me and not to you?"

Altair gave her a shrug.

The herald looked up but the panic was still in his eyes. "Please," he said, "I've done nothing wrong; I've done nothing to deserve the punishment of eternal damnation! But if I have, at least let me know and let me redeem myself!"

Nemo lifted one eyebrow and lowered the other. _Damnation_? "Listen," she began, completely forgetting about attempting to look intimidating. If her mere stance was enough then it wasn't worth the energy to look like she was about to pounce. "Can you just tell us where and when Robert is? Or where he'll be?"

"Yes, yes! He…h-he…I…" he started stuttering and was searching the ground as if for answers. "I-I-I don't know," he said finally.

Altair's arms dropped and Nemo let her ears and her tail fall. She said in a plain voice, "…You don't know?"

"Yes, yes, I do not know! That is the truth, I swear it. But, listen, please; what we seek is peace, not war."

"You'd enslave us all," Altair reasoned.

"It is for the better."

"No it's not. As long as my brothers and I breathe, you will never succeed." He approached and drove his blade straight into the man.

As he backed up, Nemo followed him with her eyes and put her ears flat on her head. "Well at least I didn't get my fur messed up."

"I believe that we've a larger problem than that," Altair replied and patted her on the back.

"We always have a larger problem."

"We still have to find out when and where Robert is." He bent over to the ground and balled up Nemo's clothes, tossing it at her feet just a few mere centimeters from a pool of blood.

"Hey! Don't get my clothes dirty!"

"If they're on the dusty ground anyway then I suppose is doesn't matter." He turned his back to her.

"There's a huge difference between 'dust' and 'blood.' Dust you can just brush off, blood you have to wash and/or scrub off."

"And you've a problem with that?"

"Yeah, I don't know how to wash clothes by hand."

"Even thou-"

"Hey, don't deny it. You don't know how to either." She slipped her shirt on and dusted herself, looking at the dead body. She closed the man's eyes and said, "Alright, I'm not in the nude anymore and you are free to turn around. Let's leave before the cavalry comes in."

"You mean the guards?"

"…Yes, Altair…the guards." She had a sarcastic hint in her tone, but regardless of that, they were quick to leave the corpse.

* * *

The lightning was beginning to slowly move its way away from the city, but a few of the aerial explosions were still dangerously close to the city. By some miracle none of them hit any buildings, but people were still scared out of their wits and most refused to leave their homes, therefore making the streets rather deserted.

"You know, you can be a wolf if you want to," Altair said. "The entire city is inside and with everyone's attention on the storm, they should see you as just another dog and not a werewolf. Besides, you can sniff the ground and follow a trail when you're a wolf."

"True, and hopefully they won't try to kill me," she said and wasted no time in the offer. "It's weird that there'd be a lightning storm here. I thought that didn't happen."

"It happens," Altair said, "just rarely. I'm sure it happens in Montana too?"

"You bet. Some of the buildings in the cities actually need something called a lightning rod so that lightning doesn't…you know…kill people."

"Do you know what lightning actually is, by any chance?"

"Funny, we're talking about lightning when we're looking for someone to kill. Whoop-dee-do. Anyway, yeah, it's technically an explosion of…well…electricity."

"You fail to notice my lack of knowledge."

Nemo trotted up beside him to prevent herself from falling behind, him having his fast-paced walk and everything…."It's a-" she saw something from the corner of her eye move into an alleyway. "-wait, what was that?"

Altair stopped walking and looked in the direction her eyes were glued to. After a very quiet moment, he dismissed it and said, "Nothing. Let's go."

The fur on her neck and back rose.

Altair decided to remain quiet and began to walk forward again. He was surprised when something large and black hit him from the side and he was quite literally slammed into the ground. He felt something around his belt snap off and, after half a second of recovering, he started to hear Nemo bark wildly.

He got to his knees and figured that the wolf's loud barking wouldn't help with anything. He grabbed onto her muzzle and shut it for a moment, signaling for her to cease the noise. Neither of them were hearing anything.

"What the hell was that?" Nemo said quietly. The silence was interrupted by a loud roll of thunder.

Altair stood up and sidestepped a bit to look into the alleyway, but as he half-expected, nothing was there. It was then that he realized the lack of weight on the left side of his waist and saw that his sword was gone, snapped off from his belt. He cursed to himself and contemplated going into the alleyway or not. His instincts said 'no' and he decided to follow them and stay were he was.

"My sword's gone," he announced.

"Damn," Nemo said. "Should we go after him? Or her?"

"Quite frankly, I believe that if it were a person, you or I would have sensed something."

"Well what else could that have been?"

"I don't know…an animal?"

"What kind of ani…oh god. Oh god!"

Altair looked at her. "Are you coming to a conclusion?" Of course the encounter was seriously brief, but the question just couldn't escape his mind in the short four seconds it was there; "Do you think that was another werewolf?"

"I don't know if I should be hoping a yes or no to that question, but you need your sword back, right?"

"I can get another. Neither of us have met another werewolf before, so how could we know that they're not feral animals? Besides, what would a werewolf want with a sword?"

"I stole yours when I first met you."

They both looked at each other.

Apparently the decision of 'going after' or 'not going after' was made for them, because something large and black had grabbed onto Altair and dragged him into the alleyway within the timeframe of what was probably the blink of an eye.

"What the-HEY!" Nemo said and chased after, turning herself into a larger wolf to give herself longer strides.

Whatever the hell happened next was definitely out of her mind, because the moment she entered the alleyway something smacked itself into her and she hit the wall, and in doing so she blacked out.

Altair had no clue what had grabbed onto him. All he knew, other than the fact that he was being dragged away on his back, was that it was definitely not a person and it most certainly had no plans to let go of him. He extended his hidden blade and tried to stab whatever this dark thing was, but he made contact with nothing. He reached out for anything that he could grab onto and clung to something stable and firmly placed in the ground, but whatever had its grip on him yanked him roughly and ripped him off.

He opened his mouth and screamed and, even in the slightest instant he thought that it may have been a wolf, it let go and disappeared somewhere.

Now he was totally freaked out and scrambled to his feet. There was no blood, no claw marks, and nothing that indicated he even had something holding onto him in the first place.

He turned around and sprinted back the way they came. He skittered to a halt when he came to a fork in the alleyways; which one had he been dragged down?

He heard something behind him fall and he twirled around in a fighting stance with his back to the wall. He wasn't given the chance to see it once it engulfed him again. He tried to stab it and yelled while doing so, but the mottled blackness was moving so quickly that he couldn't get anything.

Then the black thing suddenly flew off to the side and Nemo was on top of it, wrestling it to the ground. She literally hurled herself at it, but it kicked her off and she got to her feet, running at Altair. She grabbed onto him and threw him on her back. She began to sprint away.

It took her a few moments before she could get to her top speed, but even when she did, she felt that the black thing was close behind her. It must have grabbed onto her foot because she was tripped and had her vision turn fuzzy and dark, and it was on top of her. She squeaked out a cry when it tried to crush her head with whatever jaws it must have had amongst the smoky black, but it let go immediately when Altair threw a knife into what he guessed what its eye.

Altair backed up. His anger had quickly subsided into fear. The black thing rose on two legs with one smoky, wispy tail behind it. It was standing above Nemo and was _huge_, far too big to be a wolf. It couldn't have possibly been a werewolf, not in all chances.

Some weird, twisted mouth opened and let out a hoarse cry. It moved towards the assassin but Nemo jumped up and twisted her neck around to bite it anywhere. She must have hit it because it screeched and tore her off of it, then picked her up underneath the dog-arms and slammed her into the ground. She ricocheted off and felt all of her ribs snap in half on her left side.

Altair was in its grasp again and it started to sprint away. He could see Nemo stand up and she panicked. She was sprinting after them, getting quicker and quicker with every stride. Once she was close enough, she jumped to bite onto the thing's tail, but missed by a few inches. The black thing got faster and even though Nemo was running as fast as her leg muscles would allow her to, she was falling behind.

"No, no no no!" Nemo said and forced her lungs to take in and puff out as much air as possible. She was working at her full capacity but what she guessed to be a werewolf was faster. Altair cried out her name as he stabbed the creature in the neck several times. She could make out the word 'help' as he relentlessly stabbed it again and again, never ceasing until they were almost out of Nemo's sight.

Altair saw that Nemo was far behind and was getting smaller and smaller. As a last resort, he struggled, twisted, and turned to get out of whatever body part was holding him. He stabbed it again, this time in the chest, and the creature roared in some animalistic sound. It dropped him and he hit the ground harder than he would have imagined, rolling forward several times because of the force. He realized that they were on a rooftop, then saw the black thing rise onto its hind legs again, clutching its left lung. It was coughing and stumbling around, getting closer and closer to the edge of the building.

Nemo finally caught up and flew into the werewolf. Both of them went flying over the edge of the building and they wrestled in the air for the brief two seconds they were airborne. She managed to get the werewolf underneath her and got him impaled by a few wooden stakes placed in the ground once they fell completely. It screeched and thrashed around, forcing her off of it. It got back to it feet and it lunged at Nemo, the stakes sticking out of its chest and back. It bit her on the back of the neck and dragged her back up to the rooftop that Altair had been left on.

They struggle for a moment before the werewolf managed to throw her off of it a good two hundred feet. She tried landing on her paws but failed miserably as she tumbled. When she did stop, she looked back at the werewolf now standing behind a still-fallen Altair.

It was not only gigantic, but it had black fur that moved like smoke and a long tail that looked more like a flimsy lion's tail than a wolf's. The head's features were indistinguishable, but the couple things that she could see was a large, bulging, yellow eye that was staring straight at her. It's growling mouth showed two long, pointy rows of pearly-white teeth imbedded within purple-red gums. When it moved its head slightly, she saw a knife protruding out of the other eye.

This thing looked like a black silhouette that was thin as a twig. From the side view that she had, she could see that the flesh looked like it was being sucked into a cavity, leaving anything beyond the chest look like the body of a starving stray.

The werewolf jumped away and evaded them, promptly leaving the area.

Altair flipped onto his underside and got onto his knees again, clutching an arm to his stomach while leaning over. It had given him quite a blow. "What the hell was that?" He yelled, almost in desperation.

Nemo panted and said after a few seconds, "I think…that was a wolf."

* * *

**Hehe, this story is getting weirder and weirder by the chapter XD**


	23. Set Up

**I would just like to point out that when I wrote the chapter of Altair killing Majd Addin, I placed it very badly because it's been a while since that happened. Majd Addin would have…like…rotted by now, so let's just pretend that he died yesterday.**

**Okay, don't literally think that, but just forget that it's been about three weeks or so since Majd Addin died.**

**What a lovely imagine I just gave my readers.**

* * *

Nemo and Altair managed to find the last bit of information they needed and returned to the bureau quickly afterwards. Their recent experience was quite a frightening one, and definitely unexpected. With another werewolf in town, he (or she, the gender was uncertain) could probably track their scent trails anywhere, just like Nemo following someone from the Brotherhood.

"Altair, Nemo. What brings you back so soon?" Malik asked and looked up from his map.

"We had an unexpected visitor," Nemo said.

"Robert de Sable?"

"No, not him. More like another werewolf." Altair said and crossed his arms over his chest. "It attacked us, but I think Nemo scared it off."

"He was behaving really strangely. First he took Altair's sword, then he took Altair himself and I had to chase after him. He didn't want to kill us apparently. He kept us alive but tried to take Altair away, either that or he was trying to get both of us someplace. I really don't know what exactly happened."

"Well…are both of you alright?" Malik asked.

"We're fine," Altair responded. "Just…I don't know."

"You weren't bitten, were you?" Malik said.

"No. Bitten? What makes you say bitten?"

"There's an old myth that goes as 'he who is bitten by the werewolf will become the beast himself.'" Nemo said. "Of course that's not true, because we're usually born as werewolves, we don't become them in that matter."

"You've heard that, too?" Malik asked.

"Yeah, it's really famous. Like in 'American Werewolf in London,' or…what's it called? Underworld, I think? They're both stories that deal with people being bitten by werewolves. They make for good books and movies, I'll tell you that."

There was a small silence until Altair said, "To the subject at hand, we do know where Robert will be."

"Share your knowledge with me, then."

"Robert and his Templars are in the city and have come to pay their respects to Majd Addin. They'll attend his funeral, which means so will we."

"What is this with the Templars and Majd Addin's funeral?"

"I don't know of their true intentions, but we'll find out soon. The citizens themselves are divided; many call for their lives. Still others insist that they are here to parley, to make peace."

"Peace?"

"I've told you; the others I've slain have said as much to me, as well."

"But that'd make them allies, yet we kill them."

"Make no mistake; we are nothing like these men. Though their goals are noble, the means by which they'd achieve it are not. At least…that's what Al Mualim told me."

"So what is your plan?"

"We'll attend the funeral, but I'll confront Robert alone. Nemo will stay behind in case of emergency, but also to help escape."

"The sooner, the better." Malik handed him a feather and Altair took it, but for a short moment, he left his hand in Malik's and looked at him.

He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself.

"Altair?" Malik said and took his hand away from Altair's. "Are you alright?"

"Before we go, there's something I need to say."

"Well, be out with it."

"I've been a fool."

Malik gave him a quizzical look. "Normally I'd make no argument, but what is this?"

Altair knew it wouldn't be too easy to say, so the nervousness that harbored itself in his stomach caused him to stroke Nemo's soft fur. Funny, she was completely dry yet smelt like wet dog. "All this time, I've never told you how sorry I am. I was too damn proud. You lost your arm, lost Kadar. You've every right to be angry."

Malik paused. "I do not accept your apology."

"I understand."

"No, you don't. I don't accept it because you're not the same man who went with me into Solomon's Temple. And so you have nothing to apologize for."

"Malik-"

"Perhaps if I had not been so envious of you, I would not have been so careless myself. I'm just as much to blame."

"Don't say such things," Altair said and stood up again.

"We are one; as we share the glories of our victories, so too should we share the pain of our defeat. In this way, we grow closer. We grow stronger."

"Thank you brother," Altair said.

"Rest if you need to, both of you. I can't imagine what would happen should either of you fall."

"We will depart tomorrow. The lightning hasn't yet ceased and the funeral has been postponed to tomorrow."

"Then stay here, you are always welcome."

"Again, thank you."

Both of them walked into the other room and sat down amongst the pillows like they've done countless of times before. Nemo sprawled out and wagged her tail a couple of times. Her right ear suddenly became itchy and she twitched it, but when that wasn't enough, she used her right paw and did a canine-version of a scratch. It wasn't working so she tried using both paws, only resulting in her putting herself in a funny position. She heard Altair laughing and stopped moving, looking at him as her tail increased its wagging speed.

"You're cute like that," Altair said.

"I never expected you to apply the word 'cute' to anything," Nemo said and pawed at her ear again. It was so damn itchy.

Finally it stopped itching and she found that she had moved twelve feet from her original position with her back end still standing while the rest of her was on the ground. Good gods and divine whomever, did she really try using the floor to help with the insane scratchiness? She trotted back to Altair and laid down next to him. "What are we going to do after this?" she asked.

"I don't know. This is the last name on the list, but I am sure that Al Mualim will still allow us to travel together."

"What about when we're doing nothing?"

"We'll practice fighting, do things like that."

"What about ten years from now?"

"Um…ten years from now? You think that far ahead into the future?"

"Just wondering."

"Maybe I'll become an instructor. Maybe I'll do something else. Who knows, maybe we'll leave and go someplace different."

"Possibly. I'm stuck here, either way. Obviously…that's been the case for the past…what…four or five months, or so? Quite frankly, I don't mind now."

"Did you ever mind in the first place?"

"It took a month. Or two. Or three. But I've adjusted, obviously. Though I wonder how long we'll be here."

"I don't know. You do, after all, live longer than I do."

Her heart suddenly sank. "That's not what I meant. And don't say that, you just made me depressed."

"Sorry."

She sighed and crossed her paws, placing her head on them.

* * *

Finding the cemetery was easy; there was only one in Jerusalem. Funerals usually have large amounts of people with them, especially in tightly-knit communities, so the initial thought was that it would have been difficult to find Robert. Instead, he was probably the one person who stood out the most. He was standing in the back with fellow Templars, all with their white tunics over heavy armor baring the red cross emblazoned on their chests and flags. Altair wanted to take all of those red crosses and burn them in a giant bonfire.

Altair made Nemo wait outside of the cemetery on a rooftop, so she'd be far away enough not to arouse any suspicion. He had to be careful around this; the Templars hated the Assassins, and they would most likely be aware of him the moment he stepped in. He hoped that these Templars weren't smart enough to see that he wasn't a scholar. All he wanted to do was get to Robert and end his life.

He disguised himself with a group of scholars entering the cemetery. They all had their heads bowed and their hands clasped in prayer, so Altair followed their movements and entered the crowd of people. He stuck in the center of the scholar group and rose his head a little to look at Robert. He looked slightly different than he remembered. For one, his entire frame seemed smaller and the tunic in the front seemed baggier, almost like what a woman might wear. He took the thought out of his mind; did he _seriously_ just imagine Robert as a woman? What has his mind been turning into?

The entire crowd hushed themselves as a priest dressed in dark robes stepped onto a small platform behind Majd Addin's coffin.

A few moments of silenced passed before the priest said, in Arabic, "We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of our beloved Majd Addin. Taken too soon from this world, I know you feel sorrow and pain at his passing, but you should not. For just as we are all brought forth from the womb, so too must we all one day pass from this world."

Robert de Sable shifted his gaze from the priest over to Altair.

Altair kept his stare straight at him. How could he have possibly seen him out of this crowd, and with a group of scholars, too?

Robert moved his eyes back to the priest.

"…It is only natural, like the rising and setting of the sun," the priest continued. "Take this moment to reflect on his life and give thanks for all the good he did."

A literal dead silence fell upon everyone again. Altair could feel hate rising in his chest as he continued to stare at Robert. Then he remembered Al Mualim's words and Malik's advice; never harbor hate for your victims. Nothing good will become of it.

But the feeling lingered there, slowly growing into a more and more pronounced emotion. He couldn't possibly rid himself of the feeling; how could he? How do the others do it?

Blast it, he thought. He had to remind himself that he was at a funeral of a man that he himself killed with his own hands. With that memory, the hate began to die down. He needed to just respect them. But when they're alive it's so different…so much harder. How to douse that emotion when it's building itself like a hive of bees on an ideal tree? He felt like that for Majd Addin, but standing there in the cemetery now, knowing that he's gone, the feeling has changed drastically.

Robert looked at Altair again and slowly walked over to the priest. He leaned over into the man's ear and started whispering something, but the helmet he wore hid Altair from seeing the movement of his lips, therefore he couldn't read what he was saying.

Robert straightened his posture and motioned something to the rest of the Templars, who quickly moved into different positions.

"As you know," the priest said to break the silence, "this man was murdered. We have tried to track his killer, but it has proved difficult. These creatures cling to the shadows and run from any who would face them fairly. But not today."

This was getting increasingly bad. Altair was compromised, the Templars knew he was there, and most strange of all, they all moved to strategic locations around the cemetery. With a few glances around, Altair saw that he was trapped. It was almost as if this was planned. Did Robert honestly lure him into something?

"This man, this _killer_, he stands among us, mocking us with his presence! He must be made to pay!" The priest pointed to Altair and everyone followed its motion, now looking at Altair. "Seize him!"

* * *

Nemo couldn't really hear what was going on. She just figured that the man was speaking another language (she guessed Turkish or Arabic, she was unsure) and that all seemed to be going normal.

She sat on her haunches and kept her eyes wary of the crowd. At any moment, the Templars would attack Altair. She had been trying to figure out what to do; go in and help him, or stay and wait, disobeying his orders.

She decided to disobey his orders. Altair was smart enough to flee once he would realize that he would be overpowered, and in doing so, Imposter Robert will follow him. They'll brawl, and Altair will win. Imposter Robert can't die; Nemo couldn't remember why he was important, but she knew for sure that he- she, actually -can't die. All of the months away from electronics has made her forget why Imposter Robert was so important, but that didn't matter now.

The priest yelled an order and many Templars closed in on Altair. The assassin freaked- literally, he did some sort of 'oh my god' spasm completely foreign to him -and he drew out his sword.

It was difficult to stay there on the rooftop and watch Altair fight off those that were trying to kill him, but she remained loyal to herself. If he needed help, then she'd bud in.

_Where the hell is Nemo?_ Altair thought as he countered a Templar's attack and knocked him to the ground, stabbing him in the gut. He whipped around and broke another Templar's stance, but didn't kill the man. Instead, he ran for it.

In fact, he didn't just 'run,' running is just going at a fast pace. He sprinted like hell was on his heels. He figured that since Robert had lured him into a trap, he could do the same to him and bait him out of the cemetery, but he had to be quick; Robert was a very, very strong person, and even with all of that heavy armor on, he was quick.

Altair ran up a wall and threw himself over the top onto a wooden beam that connected itself to the same building that he told Nemo to stay onto. Upon sprinting across it, it was clear that she had left. So then where did she go?

Altair kept running, glancing behind himself from time to time. He wanted to reduce the number of Templars to only three so that he could face them without being overpowered. When he finally lost the last billion of them following him, he turned around where he was with his sword in hand and was ready to fight the four.

_It's not fair, nothing ever goes to plan. When will things go MY way?_ Altair thought as he shoved a Templar off of the roof and had him plummet to his death. He jumped to the side as another sword grazed past him, but he was just a second too late. It cut through his robes and his shirt, giving his chest a large slice across it.

Altair rose his sword again as both of the Templars started swinging their blades at him simultaneously. This was bad.

He was startled when a flurry of fur flew in front of all of them and Nemo took away the last two Templars, carrying them by the ankles with her sharp teeth, only to jump away and disappear.

She didn't reappear as Altair was left alone with Robert. "Die, Assassin!" Robert roared and lunged forward with his sword. Altair just couldn't ignore the fact that he sounded like a woman.

Robert broke his stance and barely gave him any time to jump out of the way as the sword bit rather viciously across his chest diagonally this time, possibly even deeper than the last time. He was dazed for a moment but not before he used his sword as a shield to deflect Robert's next attack. The assassin quickly kicked him away and Robert fell to the ground. Altair saw this as his chance and he jumped on Robert with his hidden blade drawn.

Robert caught his weapon and the two of them wrestled for a few minutes.

Robert grabbed the cloth on Altair's chest and lifted him off his feet, smashing him into a wall. Altair managed to wrap an arm around Robert's neck and attempted to strangle him, for his hidden blade was still within the Templar's grasp. Robert staggered on his feet and he slammed Altair into the ground, loosening the assassin's grip. He broke free from Altair and grabbed one of the assassin's throwing knives.

Altair rolled out of the way and got to his feet, taking hold of his short blade. "You can't win this, Robert," Altair said.

"You think I'll just give up?" he said. "Not a chance, heathen."

They were equal in their abilities to fight with knives, despite Altair having the stronger weapon.

Five minutes felt like five hours, but finally, Altair managed to spin Robert around and got him into his grasp again with his short blade pressed against the Templar's neck.

Robert stilled, realizing that Altair was now in control.

"I would see your eyes before you die," Altair said and grabbed onto Robert's helmet. Of course Robert's face was actually facing away from him, but with his life in Altair's hands, there was nothing the Templar could do now.

Instead of seeing the bald head of Robert, he was met with short, tightly-braided blonde hair.

He roughly turned his target around, now clutching the breastplate that protected her. He was met with by a woman's face.

"I sense you expected someone else," the woman said.

"What sorcery is this?" Altair said and shook her roughly for half a second.

"Not sorcery, moron," Nemo said and walked up behind him, joining the two. "Just a trap. You were set up."

"The wolf is right," the woman said. "It's nice to meet you wolf, by the way. You and your friend have made quite the reputation."

"Normally I'd say thanks to you, Mariyah, but I'm not an author signing books."

Her eyes narrowed at her for a moment. "Forsooth," she said. "Have I met you before?"

"No, but I'm afraid that I know you better than you think."

"You know her?" Altair asked in a baffled voice.

"In a way, but she doesn't know me. Trust me, she's really important, Alty."

"Then it appears that this situation has taken a turn for the strange," the woman said. "But she is right, _Alty_; there's no sorcery. We knew you'd come. Robert needed to be sure he'd have time to get away."

"So he flees?" Altair asked.

"We cannot deny your success," the woman said. "You may have laid waste to our plans- first the treasure, then our men -control of the Holy Land slipped away. But then he saw an opportunity; to reclaim what has been stolen, to turn your victories to our advantage." She tried wrenching free from his grasp but failed, and Altair only held onto her tighter.

"Al Mualim still holds your treasure, and we've routed your army before. Whatever Robert plans, he'll fail again."

"Aah, but it's not just Templars you'll contend with now."

"Speak sense!"

"Robert rides to Arsuf to plead his case that Saracen and Crusader unite against the Assassins."

"That will never happen; they have no reason to," Altair said.

"You and I have given them one," Nemo said. "Think of it; we've gotten people on both sides of the war, Saracen and Crusader alike."

Altair glanced at Nemo, but quickly looked back at the blond-haired woman.

"Your wolf is smart, I give her credit. But it's not just one reason; it's _nine_, in fact. Like the wolf said, those bodies you and her have left behind, they are victims of both. Both of you have made the Assassins an enemy in common and will assure the annihilation of your entire order. Well done."

"Not nine," Altair said. "Eight." He let go of Mariyah, but she remained standing where she was and didn't sprint off like a wild animal released from a cage.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You were not my target. I will not take your life. You're free to go, but do not follow me."

"I don't need to. You're already too late," the woman finished and started to walk away just as the rest of the Templars and citadel guards caught up to them.

"We'll see," Altair said, then death-glared at Nemo. "You have some explaining to do."

"Yeah, but I suggest I explain myself away someplace a little more secure, don't you think?"

He looked to his left and saw the masses of people coming after them. He jumped onto Nemo's back and she ran both of them out of there quickly.

* * *

The moment Nemo's four paws hit the ground of the bureau, Altair dismounted and roughly grabbed her by the ear. "You're not going anywhere," he hissed.

"Oww! What makes you think I'm going anywhere but here? Let go!"

"Not until you explain everything back there. Where did you go? Why did you leave? How did you know that woman, Mariyah?"

Nemo jerked herself to the side and got out of his strong grasp. She barked and bared her teeth at him, getting into a pouncing position. "I'll remind you that wolves are stronger than you humans," she said and growled loudly. "No need to be forceful. I said to you that I'll tell you everything and I keep my word, now grab onto me like that again and I promise that you'll loose more than one finger, alright? Let's just go tell Malik what happened and get you fixed up, because if you ask me, our mission isn't over yet. We're just wasting time."

Altair's hand lifted itself to his chest and he just realized that he was wounded twice.

"I say we get those cuts of yours rinsed and cleaned first."

"They're just flesh wounds, they'll heal on their own." Altair said and started to make his way towards the inside of the bureau.

Nemo bit onto the back of his robes and yanked him to the side, nearly causing him to fall over. "You stay there, I'm giving us an hour before we go after Robert, for I'm sure that's what you're thinking right now."

Altair scowled at her. "I am _fine_, Nemo, and since when did you suddenly take charge?"

She aggressively approached him and he took several steps back. "Because _I'm_ the alpha right now and you're too stubborn to get help, now _sit_ and _stay_."

He found himself obeying her and stayed where he was, getting down on his knees in a sitting position. It appeared that she wouldn't leave until he had done so, anyways.

Man, did she look nasty when she was angry.

* * *

Malik went over the gashes again with a wet towel and scrubbed them clean, ringing out the piece of cloth for a moment. "So apparently the funeral turned to chaos," Malik said and put a small amount of a white, cream-like substance on his index and middle finger, rubbing it into Altair's wounds. "What happened?"

Altair winced at the stinging sensation he got from it. "Robert de Sable was never here. He sent another in his stead. He was expecting me."

"You must go to Al Mualim," Malik said. Of course…was that always his solution? Go to Al Mualim and seek help/advice?

"There's no time," Altair said. "She told me where he's gone, what he plans. If we return to Masyaf, he might succeed. And then I fear we'll be destroyed."

"We've killed most of his men," Malik said. "He cannot hope to mount a proper attack. Wait a second; did you say _she_?"

"Yes, it was a woman. Strange, I know, but that's for another time. For now we must focus on Robert. His ranks may be disbanded, but he's clever. He's going to plead his case to Richard and Salah-Adin, to unite them against the common enemy."

"The…common enemy?"

"Us," Nemo said.

"Surely you are mistaken," Malik said and used the small towel to clean out the gashes yet again. "You're not making any sense."

"Think of this, Malik," Nemo said, lifting her head from her paws. "The men on Al Mualim's list are from both the Saracens and the Crusaders, people from both sides of the conflict. They were important people, too. Robert can use that to make a truce with the Saracens and attack Masyaf. The little town doesn't stand a chance against a force like the Crusaders, never mind the Saracens being combined with them."

Malik thought about it for a moment.

"Malik," Altair said. "It could work, and if it does, we can't win."

"Look, brother, things have changed. You must return to Masyaf. We cannot act without our master's permission. It could compromise the Brotherhood. I thought that you had learned this."

Altair snapped, "Stopped hiding behind words, Malik. Quit wielding the Creed and it tenants like some shield. Al Mualim is keeping things from us, important things. You told me that we could never _know_ anything, only suspect. Well I suspect this business with the Templars goes deeper. When I'm done with Robert, I'll ride to Masyaf that Al Mualim may have answers, but perhaps you could go now."

Malik handed him his shirt and was quick to realize just how angry Altair was right now, but he was holding it back.

"Think of it," Nemo said. "History can go in two paths right now, and I'm pretty sure that none of us want it to be with the Assassins falling to the Templars. We're the ones who write down what happens now so that other people in the future can see what we've done. We direct everything, and we don't want it to go in the wrong direction down the wrong path. If we return to Masyaf, even if I sprint the entire way home, it'll be too late for us. We have to leave now in order to prevent something bad from happening. And when I say 'bad,' I mean _really_ bad."

Malik looked at her and realization dawned on his face. "But I can't ride to Masyaf," he said. "I have to stay in the city."

"Then walk amongst its people," Altair said. "Seek out those who serve the ones we've slain. Learn what you can; you call yourself perceptive. Perhaps you'll see something we haven't."

"I don't know," Malik said. "I have to think on this."

"Do as you must, my friend," Altair said. "But we must ride to Arsuf. Every moment we delay, our enemy gets one step ahead of us."

"Be careful, both of you,"

"We will be," Altair said.

"We promise," Nemo said and stood on her paws.

* * *

**Lol, Altair freaking out. I just can't seem to imagine what movement he'd have done when he was compromised, but I'll let the reader's imagines come up with their own ridiculous stunts :3**


	24. The Blood of a War

**Behold, the battle with Robert! Whenever I do this fight, I run around in circles. Literally. I fight until Altair's health square is done to the very last one and then I run around in circles for two minutes until it's full again :D**

**It really does work!**

* * *

Nemo decided to sprint the entire way to Arsuf. Since she was faster than the horses, both she and Altair decided that it was better if she transported them to their destination. Time was short and they had to catch Robert before he could slip away from them and carry out his plans.

She had no idea where Arsuf was or how to get there, but Altair directed her up and over a very hilly, very cliffy, very unstable and dangerous mountainside. She tried to keep up her pace, using long strides to help conserve a bit of energy, but after the mountain started to go downhill, she was allowed to 'jump' the entire way down.

As she listened to the repetitive ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump of her paws against the rocky ground, she could only think of how to start a conversation with Altair about Assassin's Creed being a video game and her real name being Lacuna. He had made a treaty with her that after Robert is silenced, she'll tell him everything and how she knew that woman, Maria. Altair had gotten very suspicious of Nemo and for good reason. One, she was very clearly and openly expressing the fact that she had secrets. Two, she forced Altair to wait for answers, and three, she had been acting strangely. Why she would leave in the middle of something very important was beyond weird, because due to the fact that she's a wolf, following orders is something she can do best. Not only that, but she's loyal to the end. She chose to disobey him and apparently put him at risk of serious injury, but she had leapt down from above and carried away two Templars, only to not reappear. She left Altair to fight alone, and that behavior was beyond anything Altair could think of a reason for.

But Nemo had done that for a reason, to prove a point to Altair. After a few seconds of contemplating, she figured that while running back to Masyaf, she'll stop running and explain to Altair about her real name. That would be a good start. Then she'd somehow find some spectacular way to explain Assassin's Creed as a video game and use examples of their little 'adventures' to prove a point. Then she'd explain, in detail, what he'll find in Masyaf, and the specific orders of how things happen. People will be delirious, mostly everyone will be inside of the fortress, his own Brothers will attack them, and Malik will be there with three or four of his men. When he saw that it would come true, he'd believe her, and then things will either take a turn for the worse or will take a good path, depending on the outcome of the battle that will be held in Masyaf's gardens.

With the gardens in mind, Nemo remembered that she'd have to fight Al Mualim too, no doubt. With the Templar Treasure in his hands…good gods, he'll be able to make werewolves out of thin air and use them as minions against Altair and herself. Heck, Altair doesn't even stand a chance against a single werewolf, never mind a few of them.

A couple hours later and they found themselves traveling down a narrower path that, thanks to the trees overhead, resembled more of a dark tunnel. It was a little creepy running down that tunnel of a path, but a bit of amusement had been gained when they passed a few people traveling on horses. Their bamboozled expressions couldn't have been more priceless.

Nemo slowed down her speed and stopped running, listening to a long, droning noise in the background. It sounded like human voices.

"It's a war," Altair said. "The Crusaders are fighting. No doubt we'll have people in our way, as well."

"We'll be ready for them," Nemo said and started running forward again. "We could avoid them if I run in the trees, maybe. If I move fast enough they won't be able to distinguish us should they see us."

"No, we should just quickly dispatch those who stand in our way. It might be faster that way; the trees here are densely packed together."

Right as he finished his sentence, an arrow whizzed by both of them and hit the stony pathway, ricocheting off. Nemo glanced in its direction and said, "Why is it that the protagonists always have unwanted company?"

"It's just a few archers, keep running."

She obeyed the orders for the next fifteen seconds until they were stopped by a group of fifteen Crusaders all lined up at a cliff. They were archers and were shooting arrows down to the masses of people below in a valley, and it was there that Altair and Nemo could see the immense clouds of dust rising into the air from the men charging forward and the horses running with the masses. The sounds of human battle-cries down below made it seem like something from a movie.

The archers spotted them and started yelling in French. They now all pointed their arrows at the two and started shooting at them.

Nemo jumped into the protection of a few trees and Altair dismounted her.

"They'll come after us," Altair said. "Either that or they'll eventually run out of arrows."

Just as he predicted, three of the guards came chasing after them with their swords in hand. Altair drew his sword and was swift in dispatching the archers as Nemo got the other two.

_Heh, maybe if I can scare them enough, they'll jump off the cliff,_ Nemo thought to herself and sprinted around a tree to get to the other archers.

Altair caught up her quickly while she threw the last archer over the cliff and got onto her back again. She promptly sprinted down the trail until they were stopped, yet again to no surprise, by a guard tower standing in their way. The guard tower had ten foot wooden fences on either side of it to keep out any invaders, and the only way over, other than jumping, was the ladder.

There were four archers on the guard tower to stop any trespassers that came by. Nemo said to Altair, "I can bet you anything that there's a group of soldiers on the other side. If you get the ones on the guard tower, I'll get the ones on the other side."

"We'll do that," Altair said and jumped off of her back, now climbing up the ladder.

The first thing he did when he reached the top was grab onto the back of an unfortunate archer, whom had been too interested in Nemo's sudden appearance to even notice Altair. He knocked the archer off his feet and pulled him off of the tower, watching him land on a stake sticking out of the ground.

Altair pulled himself onto the guard tower's platform and started attacking the other three Crusaders. Two of them he knocked off and sent plummeting to the ground fifty feet below, the other he managed to slay with his sword. He hurried to the next ladder and went down two steps at a time.

"I saw a bunch of soldiers off in the trees," Nemo said. "They'll surround us up ahead. It'd be pointless for you to not go on foot."

"That's what I was about to say," Altair replied and slid his sword back into its sheath. He looked off to his right and saw, at the top of the hill, a line of soldiers running across the peak of it down a path to their position. "Let's go," he said and started running forward. He was hoping that the mere presence of this gigantic wolf would make the Crusaders change their mind about attacking and turn around to leave them alone, giving them more time to get to Robert, but they're in the middle of a war right now and anything could happen.

They actually weren't in the _middle_ of the war, they were more on the outskirts, and Altair thanked Allah for the geography on this place- a valley in the middle meant that's where the conflict was -but a war was still a war. They needed to get to Robert and, most likely, King Richard before they went into battle themselves. If King Richard died, then Altair would have no one to parley with. If that happened and he assassinated Robert, even throughout the chaos of the war, an entire army might come after him and Nemo.

His wish wasn't granted as two dozen soldiers jumped out from the trees and attacked them head-on. Nemo viciously bit them and threw them around like playthings while Altair fended them off with his hidden blade and short blade, drastically reducing their numbers. When there were only four left, the survivors fled to the trees.

"Nemo, after them!" Altair ordered. "If they get away, they could inform their leaders of our presence."

Without hesitation, she chased after them like they were rabbits she were hunting. The trees made it difficult for her to maneuver around, but thanks to all of the training she got from running around cities, she plucked off three of them within Altair's vision. He lost sight of her when the last Crusader got too deep in the woods and she followed him.

The crack of a stick startled the assassin and he whipped around with his sword in his hand. Three Crusaders had appeared with their weapons in their hands and began to advance on Altair.

* * *

Nemo rounded on the fleeing Crusader and opened her mouth to bite him, only to get a mouthful of thorny bushes that pricked and cut her skin. The Crusader scrambled to his feet and dove behind a tree, where the wolf once again bit the bark instead of flesh. She came around the other side of the enormous tree and saw that the Crusader had managed to fit inside of a small hole in the tree that must have been hollowed out over the years. He was back as far as he could have possibly gone, and with the thick roots growing over the deep cave-like shelter, he was seemingly safe. It acted as a cage, protecting him.

Nemo tried to reach him through the small openings that were provided, but they prevented her head from fitting completely through. She must have been only six inches away from biting onto him. She pulled her head back out and tried another time, but again, her head got stuck and she was half a foot from biting him. When it wasn't working, she resorted to biting onto the roots and thrashing herself around, trying a total of five times, but she just couldn't break the roots or reach the man.

She barked loudly at him, her tail wagging high in the air as she began to use her paws to claw the dirt of the way. She could hear the Crusader's heavy breathing as he practically yelled a prayer, wishing for some sort of divine intervention to save him from the jaws of this creature he had never seen before that was now going to dig to him.

When she started hitting large rocks and only succeeded in setting sparks in the air from the friction of her claws instead of moving them out of the way, she started attacking those thick roots that acted as gnarled bars. Again and again, she beat herself again those roots, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. It wasn't working.

She swiped at them with her paws, but they were about as thick as tree trunks and were firmly planted into the large rocks beneath her feet. The Crusader was lucky; his little shelter was a good one.

She couldn't break the roots, couldn't possibly push down a tree this size, and large rocks prevented her from digging to her target. She couldn't fit in through the openings that the Crusader had gone through.

She paced back and forth, trying to figure out what to do.

She tried biting the roots apart again, pulling them back and forth, jerking side-to-side, but no matter what she did, no matter how much she sunk her teeth into them, and no matter how much spit she got on them, they wouldn't move.

She put her eyes down to an opening so that the Crusader could see her. She stared straight at him and bared her teeth sticky with spit at him as a reminder that he was more than a inch from death and was only lucky.

She bounded away and the Crusader sat there in the dirt where the bugs crawled around in the natural shelter. The ants and cockroaches fell onto him and squirmed as his weight crushed them while the worms from the dirt came up to the surface in a panic over what just happened. The surrounding trees all had claw and teeth marks on them as well as blood from the long thorns that had sliced open the wolf's face. The ground was kicked up and rocks were overturned. Smaller plants were crushed and everything was in disarray. The Crusader believed that he had been saved, especially when Nemo didn't return.

* * *

Nemo saw Altair slice the neck of a man with his short blade. He had dispatched the last of the attackers that must have arrived when she was away for the brief moment.

Altair did a double-take of Nemo when he saw her bloody face. He wanted to ask, "What happened to you?" but refrained from doing so.

"Robert shouldn't be up too far ahead," Nemo said. "His scent it getting stronger, thanks to the wind being in our favor."

"Let's go," Altair said, deciding to go the rest of the way on foot.

Nemo galloped behind him, keeping a lookout for any archers. There were none, but maybe they had just killed them all. That was always an explanation.

With the archers and other soldiers aside, the duo appeared to have been near the end of the trail. They went over one last hill and they saw sixteen men- one a king, one a lieutenant, the others Crusaders -together standing in a group. Before the men saw them, Altair stopped walking and said to Nemo, "Try not to intimidate them. We'll just talk, but if force must be used…."

"I understand. However, I don't want to be written down in history for killing a king."

"We'll just see how this goes," Altair said, and they started walking towards them again.

King Richard, dressed in extravagant armor with jewels and gold decorating it, saw them first. Everyone else turned to face them.

As they started to draw their weapons, Altair said, "Hold a moment. It's words we bring, not steel."

Two of the men stepped in their paths. Nemo bared her teeth a little and the two Crusaders took a few steps back. She just didn't want to cause them to attack her or Altair.

"Offering terms of surrender, then?" King Richard said. "It's about time."

"You misunderstand," Altair said. "It's Al Mualim who sends us, not Salah-Adin."

"_Assassin_," Richard hissed. "You and your demon, come here to kill me? What is the meaning of this? Be quick with your words!"

"That's not what we're here for. We did not come to kill you, but to warn you. You've a traitor in your midst."

"And he is here to kill me? Has some elaborate plan to gloat about it before he does so?"

"No, no one is here to kill you." Altair looked at Robert and pointed at him. "It's him." He let his arm fall back down to his side as everyone put their eyes on Robert. The Crusader was heavy in his thick, mud-crusted armor and his dirty helmet. He must have been through a few fights already. "Robert de Sable."

"My lieutenant?" Richard said.

Altair signaled for Nemo to stay where she was and advanced towards King Richard until he stood about seven paces away from him. He listened to the red-bearded and red-haired king laugh heartily for a moment while everyone else circled around them in a phalanx. "He aims to betray," Altair continued.

"That's not the way _he_ tells it. He seeks revenge from your people whom have brought havoc upon us, and I am inclined to support him. Some of my best men were murdered by some of yours."

"It was us who killed them, and for good reason. Here me out; William of Montferrat, slain by Nemo-" he gestured to the werewolf "-he sought to use his soldiers to take Acre by force. Garnier de Naplouse, slain by me; he would use his skills to indoctrinate and control any who resisted. Sibrand; he intended to block the ports, preventing your kingdom from providing aid. They betrayed you, and they took their orders from Robert."

King Richard went silent for a moment. "You expect me to believe this outlandish tale?"

"You knew these men," Altair argued. "Better than I. Are you truly surprised to learn of their ill intentions?"

Richard turned his head to look at Robert, who promptly removed his helmet to reveal his scarred, bald head. "Is this true?"

Robert bowed slightly at Richard and said, "My liege, it is an assassin and a devil that stands before us. These creatures are masters of manipulation. Of course it isn't true."

"We've no reason to deceive," Altair said.

Richard turned to Nemo, whom was sitting down. "And what do you've to say, demon? What of this? What is your part?"

Nemo stood up. "My name is Nemo, not 'demon.'" She bowed her head slightly. "Quite frankly, if you ask me, it makes sense. I don't know what it is that Robert seeks- control, power, wealth, _je ne sais pas_ -I really don't know, and I don't know what my part is in this either. No matter what, you best just listen to what it is this man in white robes has to say. I can say with all honesty; I've seen a lot of weird things happen in the past couple months, but nothing quite as weird as this. I've gone over it over and over in my head, and I say you, King Richard, it's pretty much true."

Richard looked at Altair.

"Both of you do have reason to deceive," Robert said. "You're afraid of what will happen to your little fortress. Can it withstand the might of the Saracen and the Crusader army?"

"No," Nemo said in a matter-of-fact voice. "You've seen the front entrance, haven't you? It's just wood stuck in the ground!"

"My concern is for the people of the Holy Land," Altair said. "If we must sacrifice ourselves for there to be peace, so be it."

"Gee, thanks for volunteering me," Nemo said in a quiet, low voice to herself.

"This is a strange place we find ourselves in," Richard said. "Each of you accusing the other."

"There really is no time for this," Robert said. "I must be off to meet with Salah-Adin, and plead for his aid. The longer we delay, the harder this will become." He began to walk away until Richard stopped him.

"Hold a moment, Robert," he said.

"Why? What do you intend?" He turned around from his position, still holding his helmet against his hip. "Surely you don't believe these two creatures?"

"It is a difficult decision, one I cannot make alone," Richard said. "I must leave it in the hands of the one wiser than I."

"Thank you," Robert said. Nemo almost laughed at him; did he really believe himself to be that important?

"No Robert, not you." Then, almost as if in an exaggerated Hollywood movie scene, Richard pointed to the sky and said with a dramatic voice, "The Lord. Let this be decided by combat."

_This is absolutely the worst way to settle out something like this_, Nemo thought to herself.

"Surely God will side with the one who's cause is righteous. You and this assassin will fight to the death, without interference from the wolf…Nemo."

"_Va l'enfeur_," Nemo said.

"Nemo," Altair said in a stern, deep voice.

She squinted her eyes at him and said, "I love you man, I really do, so you better not die. I'll wait over here."

"No interferences," Richard said.

"If this is what you wish," Robert said and bowed to Richard again, putting his helmet back on his head.

"It is."

"So be it," Robert said. "_En guard, assassin_. Good luck without your little demon from Hell to help you."

"Seriously, has nobody here seen Silent Hill?" Nemo said. "If you think _I'm_ a demon, just go look at Pyramid Head."

Altair rolled his eyes.

Nemo watched Altair take out his sword. Damn it all, she thought. She knew that Altair was meant to win, but if he ever gets stuck as a rock in a hard place, she'd save him. She didn't care what Richard said; why did she even bow to him, anyway? If she must interfere for her friend's sake, then by all means, she will, and to prevent anyone else from finding out, she'd have to kill all of them, including King Richard.

Good gods and divine whomever…killing the king. If it was necessary, she would. Besides, if she remembers correctly, most of the kings of Europe weren't very good people, anyway.

Altair and Robert circled each other for what must have been an eternity and never took their eyes off of the other.

Finally, Robert took a step forward and broke Altair's stance. Altair jumped out of the way and nearly stabbed Robert, but he promptly leapt off to the side. Their swords clashed violently together, sending orange and red sparks flying in the air that quickly disappeared. Altair tried to swipe Robert's feet from under him but the Templar had fast reflexes and jumped to dodge him. Altair quickly rammed himself into the man and got his opponent's sword into his own hands to disable Robert, the two now wrestling while Altair attempted to stab him.

Robert picked up Altair- seriously, was he really that light? Even Maria could lift him -and threw him off to the side. The same arm that had been dislocated suddenly had a sharp pain in it and Altair realized that it had been damaged again. Curse gravity!

Robert ran towards him, but Altair grabbed his sword with his good arm and quite literally jumped up to his feet and out of the way.

After sprinting for a few seconds to get ahead, Altair whipped around and faced Robert again, keeping his disabled arm dangling at his side. The gigantic Crusader hit him head-on with his sword and the sparks yet again flew. Clang, clang, shling, clang, and Robert, being much larger and stronger than Altair, pushed the injured assassin back farther and farther.

Altair thrust his sword forward and missed, but got a face full of fist and was nearly knocked over. He spun around and sliced Robert near the neck, right underneath his helmet. When he saw him stagger with blood dripping down onto his armor, he thought that he had delivered the fatal blow, but instead he had only merely nipped the skin and didn't cut anything vital.

However, he did succeed in enraging Robert and the man's swings were now more pronounced with more strength.

It was difficult, to say the least; fighting with one arm. Regardless, the assassin brought his sword up to block Robert's attack and kneed him. The man double over and Altair took a swing at the back of his neck.

Robert dodged and the two had quite the impressive display of sword fighting.

Two minutes turned to ten, and neither of them were winning. Robert nearly swiped Altair's sword from his hands and in the process allowed the assassin to, quite frankly, cut his face open with the sharp knuckles of his gloves. The Crusader stumbled back and was stunned, only to be startled when he felt the smaller assassin pounce on him.

He hit the ground and had the wind knocked out of him. He couldn't believe it; the assassin was trying to remove his helmet, and had succeeded. He grabbed onto Altair's foot as he attempted to flee and brought him back down to the ground. Altair flipped onto his back and, just as Robert was about to attack him again, he thrust his hidden blade forward and sliced part of his neck open.

Robert looked shocked and his hands flew up to his neck, gripping it tightly. Altair pushed him off to the side, panting heavily to keep up with the strain that had been put on his body. He had pushed just about nearly three hundred (or more) pounds off to the side with both his good and bad arm.

Robert put a bloody smile on his face while the blood poured out of his wound.

"It's done, Robert," Altair said and looked at the now-bloodied man laying on his back in the dirt. Altair cradled his weakened arm and remained sitting down on his knees next to Robert. "Your schemes are at an end."

Robert laughed and said, "You know nothing of schemes. You…puppet. He betrayed you, just as you betrayed me." He brought his other hand up to his neck that was pumping out blood.

"Speak sense, Templar."

"Nine men to kill, nine who guarded the treasure's secret. Assassin, it wasn't nine, but ten."

"Another? Give me his name."

Robert laughed again. "You wouldn't take his life, for you know him well."

"Who is this, then?"

"Your master, _Al Mualim_."

Altair was confused. "But he is not a Templar."

"You never thought about how it is he knew all of us, how many of us, and where to find us? What we wanted?"

"He is the master of the Assassins, though."

"_Oui_, master of lies. We were both part of his games, but with my death, only you and your wolf remain. Do you think he'll let you live? Ironic, isn't it? That I, your greatest enemy, kept you safe from harm. Not just you, but Nemo, too. He wants that wolf for himself, to take control of the Holy Land."

"What of her? What of the wolves?"

Robert smiled again. "You really do know nothing. They are creatures born from the treasures themselves. They were first bred…to…to protect it," Robert said, but began to drift away. "Only with the wolf, can he carry out his wish. Then…he can control her…and you've seen for yourself, the power that she holds. How difficult it is to kill one of her kind…and with her, Al Mualim can have an entire army in just one creature, and with the treasure, that wolf…your wolf…will become a god with such power."

"But she wouldn't obey someone like that."

"You fool, are you deaf, boy? He'd…use the treasure to take her mind…she'd be his own…g-g-uardian, forced to serve him…and she is not meant to bond with him…she is not his guardian. The only reason why he let you and her travel together was because it...would train her...to be stronger, to be more skilled. But she…"

Much to Altair's displeasure, Robert closed his eyes and died. He and Robert must have been speaking much too softly for the others to hear, for they appeared to have not heard a single word spoken.

"Well fought, Assassin!" King Richard praised. "It seems that God favors your course today."

"God had nothing to do with it," Altair said and staggered onto his feet. His arm was hurting more painfully now. "I was the better fighter."

"You may not believe in Him, but it seems that He believes in you. But before you go, I've a question."

"Ask it, then."

"_Why_? Why travel all this way, risk your life a thousand times, all to kill a single man?"

"He threatened my brothers and what we stand for."

"Vengeance, then?"

"No, not vengeance. Justice…that there might be peace." He felt Nemo nudge his side and looked over at her. He stroked her head a few times.

"Peace? Do you see how contradictory that is?"

"Some men can't be reasoned with," Nemo said.

"Like Salah-Adin?"

"I think he'd like to see an end to this war as much as you do," Nemo and Altair said simultaneously and got a baffled expression from Richard.

"Strange," the king said. "Strange how both of you seem so fit for the other, as far as I've heard from stories. But in the meantime, I've heard that Salah-Adin wishes for the war to end, but I've never seen it."

"Even if he doesn't say it, it's what the people want," Nemo said, purposely stealing Altair's next line. "Saracen and Crusader alike."

"People don't know what they want. That's why they turn to men like us."

"Then it falls to men like you to do what is right," Altair said.

"Nonsense. We-"

"Come into the world kicking and screaming, violent and unstable." Nemo said. "It is what we are; we cannot help ourselves, same way how I can't help myself saying exactly what it is that you were about to say."

Richard gave her a quizzical look. "How did you know I was to say that? Those exact words?"

"Because we have a tendency to choose what we become."

"We speak the truth," Altair said. "We will not deceive."

"Ah, you and your kind, always playing with words."

"I'm sorry, Richard," Nemo said. "But we have other business to attend to."

"Safety and peace," Altair said and hauled himself up onto Nemo's back, still holding his arm close to his chest.

Before they turned away to leave, Nemo looked back at Richard and said, "If I said that you were the invader, and that you have no divine right to rule, would you believe me?"

He looked at her and tried to say something, but couldn't find the words. With that, Nemo left, sprinting away quickly. The first part of her plan was done; she could now reason with Altair why she knew even what Richard was going to say.

* * *

**Yes, kings apparently believed that they had a divine right from God to rule, kind of like the Chinese dynasties, who believed in something very similar. Also, you should look at some of those _ridiculous_ outfits they wore; one guy looked like he was wearing his bedsheets! It was hilarious! There are so many little things we can find fun out of from kings, like how King Louis XIV (i think) had intestines twice the size of a normal human. Well...let's see, he only ate these items everyday:**

**Four different bowls of soup, a whole stuffed pheasant, partridge (or a chicken, or duck), mutton with gravy, two pieces of ham, hard-boiled eggs, three large helpings of salad, pastries, jams (from the bowl), and fruits.**

**ALL FOR LUNCH.**

**Anyway, I changed the semi-boss battle to Altair just fighting Robert, because having to write about him fighting ten Templars would have gotten a wee bit too repetitive, don't you think?**

**P.S. If you didn't understand the Silent Hill reference, just look it up in Google Images and you'll see what I mean :)**

**Oh yeah, and_ 'Va l'enfeur'_ means 'go to hell' in French :3**


	25. The Gardens

**This was originally supposed to be uploading on Christmas (my form of a gift XD) but I never got to it :O**

**I hope that it will still suffice, however XD**

* * *

Now farther away from Arsuf, the landscape had become very dry and sandy again, as well as the temperature skyrocketing into the natural heat of the desert. The blazing sky didn't help one bit at all either, but regardless from that, Nemo had been running for the past two hours straight and figured that soon would be a good time to tell Altair what is was that she had been keeping from him.

She started to slow down her pace and went to a trot, then stopped, her lungs panting in out the hot air.

"Why did you stop?" Altair asked. "Are you alright?"

"I need to tell you something," replied Nemo. "Please, get your feet on the ground. I don't actually know how I'm going to word this."

Altair did as told and dismounted.

Nemo turned around to face him. "Alright, um…I guess I should first start with my name."

"Your name? What about your name? Be quick, we're running short on time."

"We'll make time, I promise," she said, then sighed and sat down. "My name isn't Nemo, just to let you know."

Altair gave her a quizzical look. "Well? If your name's not Nemo, then what is it?"

"It's Lacuna Coil. Doesn't make any since, does it? Lacuna means gap, so a coil of a gap. So to speak, my name means 'nothing.'"

Altair paused for a moment. "I think you might need to rest in the shade, the he-"

"Alty, I'm not lying and I don't have heat exhaustion. When you first asked me what my name was, I don't know why I said 'Nemo,' it just kind of…I don't know…popped into my head. And you want to know what Nemo means?"

Altair crossed his arms and answered her with a silent stare.

"It means 'no name,' so the entire time you and everyone else has known me, I've been called 'no name.'"

Altair looked down the path that they had been taking and decided that they could delay their mission by a few minutes. "So then why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because if I did, I would have lost your trust. But that's not the only thing that I need to tell you. You see, this entire time I've known most of what was going to happen because…um…I don't really know how to explain this."

"Spit it out."

"Alright, so you know I'm from another dimension, right?"

"Yes, you've even proven it."

"In my world, people generally use their creativity quite often to come up with loads of stories in all sorts of manners, and one of them was called Assassin's Creed and it was about an assassin named Altair trying to redeem himself after he screwed up in Solomon's Temple, resulting in the death of his comrade's brother and the other guy loosing an arm, a.k.a. Malik."

He gave her a questioning look.

"I fell _into_ the story, Altair, and I've already explained it to you. I just have no idea how _you_ and this place could exist."

"So you're saying that I'm just part of a story?"

"Originally. It was a work of fiction that millions and millions of people liked, and they even made a sequel about a relative of yours named Ezio that takes place about three hundred years after you die. Look, I know this sounds crazy, but I can prove it. When you were chasing after Robert, I left for a reason, because I knew that you would win and I needed that fact to help me in my argument."

"So you planned this?"

"Yeah, I didn't have much of a choice. I also knew Mariyah because at the end of Assassin's Creed, you met a woman instead of Robert. I can also argue the fact that you and I sometimes say the same things at the same time, or I say what you're thinking. It's because I knew the story well enough to remember a lot of your lines, so it's not a coincidence, it was purposely done. Now I need to tell you about Masyaf, and you're not going to like it. When we get there, it'll be dark and there will only be a few out walking around and they'll look like delusional zombies. Al Mualim will be controlling their minds, and your own brothers will start attacking you. Once you reach the fortress, Malik will appear with four of his men and he'll tell you how he found Robert's diary and read its contents. That should be enough to convince you."

"But, if what you're saying is true, then how is Al Mualim-"

"With the Templar Treasure, he can control their minds. He even tried to control yours, but it failed because you're too strong to be influenced by it. He's a _Templar,_ Altair."

"That's what Robert said."

"And he's been using you and the others as pawns to get the Templar Treasure, also known as the Piece of Eden, to take control of the Holy Land and eventually beyond, and I know that he's been using me too, but he won't be for much longer, I'm sorry to say."

Altair thought about it and it made sense; she was completely right. She even knew what he was going to say?

"There were some things that didn't happen in the story that we have no control over, though. Like me having to kill William de Montferrat, or you getting a dislocated arm."

"I believe you, Lacuna, but there's something that I must say, too."

Lacuna cocked her head but kept quiet.

"A lot of my targets have been speaking about werewolves as a guardian, or something much more than normal, and I think that Al Mualim wants you because of it. Robert said that he would try to control you and then use you as a one-person army to control the Holy Land. He said something about you and me bonding, but in a sense different than a relationship. I don't know what he means of it, but please, both of us will just have to be careful. I don't have to think much on the fact that Al Mualim will probably try to fight us."

"He will fight us, and he'll try to kill you. Although it sounds like he doesn't want to kill me. The Piece of Eden that he has will make him do things that…well…the laws of physics says is impossible, so he's going to be quite a formidable opponent, to say the least."

Altair sighed. He didn't really understand how he could be a work of fiction if he's real, but her proof was incontrovertible to him. If he wanted to question her further, he'd have to do it after they fight Al Mualim, granted they win.

* * *

It wasn't much to his surprise that Nemo was right. Masyaf for once was cloudy and dark, and the few people wandering the street were aimlessly walking around and staring at the sky as if they were looking at something that wasn't there.

Lacuna stopped running and began to slowly walk forward. She wanted to move slowly to prevent upsetting anyone, because the people here are innocent. It's not really their fault, after all.

Altair dismounted Nemo and said to her, "Let's try not to make a lot of noise."

"I agree." She put her head down low as they cautiously walked up the path to the fortress.

Nemo's fur went ridged and she hunched her back as they approached the opening where they would be attacked, and just as she remembered, about dozen other assassins came around from behind and started yelling at them in Arabic with their swords drawn.

Nemo and Altair started backing up as Altair said, "We'll have to kill them; we have no choice."

Nemo bared her teeth as they unskillfully hit them head-on and wound up being thrown around by the wolf while Altair fended them off with his sword. Even though they were well-trained, they were fighting just like any other Crusader or Saracen wandering around. Unfortunately, the noise had attracted other members of the Brotherhood to come and fight them.

Altair felt a pang of slight horror when he realized that he was slashing down his own allies. He wished that this quick spur-of-the-moment brawl would end, and it thankfully did when all of their opponents turned around and fled.

Altair was startled when a knife flew right past his head and stuck itself in the ground not that far away. He looked behind himself and saw Malik with three of his own men standing atop a cliff, throwing knives at the attackers to drive them away.

"Altair, Nemo, up here!" Malik yelled from his far-away position and waved his arm at them.

Lacuna noticed the look Altair gave her but she ignored it and the two began to race toward Malik.

"You picked a fine time to arrive," Altair said.

"So it seems."

"Guard yourself well, friend. Al Mualim has betrayed us."

"Yes, I know. Betrayed us of paradise, as well." Malik replied.

"How do you know?"

"After we spoke, I returned to the ruins beneath Solomon's Temple. Robert had kept a journal, filled its pages with revelations. What I had read broke my heart, but opened my eyes. All along our master has used us; we were not meant to save the Holy Land, but to deliver it to him! He _must_ be stopped."

"Be careful, Malik. What he's done to the others he'll do to us if given the chance. You must stay far from him."

"What do you propose? My blade arm is still strong and my men remain my own. It would be a mistake not to use us."

"Distract these attackers and attack the fortress from behind. If you can draw their attention away from Nemo and I, then we should be able to reach Al Mualim."

"I'll do as asked, Altair," Malik said and bowed his head slightly to the assassin.

"The men we face...they are not their own. They are still our brothers. If you can avoid killing them…"

"Yes. Though he has betrayed the tenants of the Creed, it does not mean we must as well. I'll do what I can."

"It's all I ask. Safety and peace, my friend."

"Your presence here will deliver us both."

Nemo licked Malik on the side of the face and said a 'c'mon' to Altair, and they all parted their ways.

When they reached the courtyard, it was filled with what must have been all of Masyaf, and every single person was in a daze or some sort of trance, under the influence of the Piece of Eden.

"There's so many innocents," Lacuna said.

"Try not to hurt them," Altair said. "I am guessing that Al Mualim is in the gardens, am I correct?"

"_Oui_, he is," Nemo licked him a few times on the side of the face and said, "Just to make sure that we're not underestimating Al Mualim, let's say that after this, you and I go take a break and…eat a cake, and if we don't, then I will be very disgruntled."

"You could just say 'don't die,' and I'd be fine with that."

"No, living is the good part. Eating cake is a good plus to it."

"We'll have honey on it, just because I like honey," Altair said.

"Good, because I like honey too."

They began to gently push a path for themselves through the crowd and ascended to the library, where they were free to go straight into the gardens.

"Stay away from the water," Lacuna said.

"Why?"

"Because he uses the-"

Both of them at the same time were jerked towards the large stone square opening surrounded by water. They bodies went stiff and they were forced to look up to a balcony where a golden-glowing ball of light was in Al Mualim's hand.

Altair tried to move himself free of his position, as did Lacuna, but it proved to no avail.

"You bastard," Lacuna hissed and bared her teeth.

"So, the student returns!" Al Mualim said, raising his voice quite high for both of them to here since he was a significant distance away.

"We've never been one to run!" Altair said and jerked back and forth in an attempt to get free of whatever was holding him and Lacuna, but his feet just couldn't move.

"Never been one to listen, either," Al Mualim said.

"I still live because of it," Altair argued.

"And just what will I do with you two?"

"You could let us go," Nemo said. "That'd be nice. I have an arrangement for later on tonight that I would just _hate_ to miss."

Al Mualim laughed. "Ooh, you two…just why would I do that?"

"Come on, seriously? You're acting so cliché right now, just like the classic antagonist."

"Cliché, you say?"

"Screw you," Lacuna said.

"Let us go," Altair interrupted.

"I hear the hatred in your voice," Al Mualim replied. "I can almost _feel_ it. But to let you go? That would be unwise."

"Why are you doing this?" Altair asked.

"I found _proof_."

"Proof of what?"

"That nothing is true," Al Mualim said and rose the Piece of Eden, and it began to glow much brighter. "_Everything_ is permitted."

Nine apparitions appeared around the two and they immediately recognized them. They were all of Altair's targets, all of them long-gone bynow in control of Al Mualim.

"Now," Al Mualim said. "Destroy the betrayer! Send him from the world!"

Altair felt the tension on his body release and he was free to move again.

"Altair, I still can't move," Lacuna whispered.

Great, now things just got a lot more difficult.

They all moved away from Lacuna and surrounded Altair, ignoring the werewolf. She was trying her hardest to move one leg forward, slowly becoming desperate as Altair began to need aid more and more quickly with each swing of his opponent's sword.

She felt as if something broke free from her leg, almost as if she ripped it out of a cement block, and it was free for a moment. A second later, it was stiff again. She jerked forward and she was able to take a step. She did the same with her other leg, but it felt like walking through a tremendously thick substance with a thousand pounds on her back, but it gradually began to lessen.

Al Mualim saw the wolf stiffly breaking one leg free, then the other, and then the other. She was breaking the field that he had put on her and she was now in a hunting position moving relatively quickly towards Altair, whom was quite literally getting mauled by the mass around him.

Lacuna pounced free from what was holding her back and she bit onto Talal's head and wrangled him to the ground. Next she rammed into William de Montferrat and relentlessly slammed her jaws down on him over and over again until he disappeared into a poof of golden dust, showing that she had killed him…again.

Altair felt a sting of pain glide down his face as Sibrand's sword sliced him. He was confused when Robert was lifted from the ground and saw Lacuna angrily ripping him apart, and she was suddenly released all of her fury onto whoever was closest.

Altair turned around and rose his sword to block an attack from Tamir. He countered Tamir's next attack and slit his neck open just as Lacuna jumped in front of him and mercilessly battered the next man.

The last of them fell and they were pulled back to the center of the garden. To Altair, the sensation coming from the Piece of Eden was unbearable and he let out an abrupt scream as he lost control of being able to move.

Lacuna felt something grab onto her back feet and found that she couldn't move them and was being dragged back towards Altair. With her front paws, she dug her claws into the ground and tried to pull herself forward but it did nothing. When she stood up, she was completely stuck like a statue just like Altair.

Al Mualim appeared at the entrance of the library and began to descend the stairs towards them.

"Face us!" Altair said. "Or are you afraid?"

"I have stood before a _thousand_ men," Al Mualim said, "all of them superior to you! And all of them _dead, _by my hand!" He was now only about thirty feet away from them and stopped where he was to just simply look at them. "I am not afraid."

Lacuna felt the force on her weaken for a moment and her voice let out a bark and one foot rose again. Al Mualim turned his gaze to her and the power coming form the Piece of Eden strengthened on her.

"Prove it," Lacuna said, realizing how awkward it felt to have her jaws wide open with her teeth bared and not being able to do anything about it.

"What could I _possibly_ fear?" Al Mualim said and a column of golden light began to swirl around his feet.

Holy God, in three seconds Al Mualim multiplied from one to ten.

"Heh, cellular mitosis," Lacuna said. "Just like my classroom guppies in fourth grade. I swear, those fish did cellular mitosis."

How is it, Altair thought, that here they are about to get killed, and she's still finds something to laugh about?

"Remembering your past won't do you any good," Al Mualim said. "And I am sorry, truly I am."

"For what?" Lacuna asked.

"For having to rip you apart from your master and prevent you from bonding with him," Al Mualim said. "But tonight is a lunar eclipse, and at last, I will _finally_ have my power."

"Hey idgit, does it look like I know what you are talking about?"

Al Mualim looked at her. "You've no idea, do you? You werewolves are born from the Piece of Eden, created by it, _for_ it. When the Pieces of Edens were made, they needed guardians, and thus your kind was born. Wolf and man lived side by side with their own Pieces of Eden, until one possessor set his eyes on something he knew he could not have. He collected the Pieces of Edens and slaughtered any who stood in his way to reach his goals, including the wolves, whom were trying to save their own pieces. With his power, he clouded people's visions and made them massacre all wolves ever spotted. The Pieces of Edens spread out wolves in the most remote areas of the world to protect them, so now the protectors were the protected."

"This is like a fairytale told over and over again," Lacuna said. "You think I believe you, you delusional, psychotic para-"

"And some were cast to other dimensions. _You_ are from another one, are you not? Well, I needed a wolf to complete my Piece of Eden."

Lacuna loosened herself. "So you took me?"

"Yes, and when I saw your power, I knew that you were the one. But I needed to be sure, so with you and Altair traveling together, you would gain skill."

Lacuna started snarling again. "You kidnapped me, all for yourself. You tore me away from my brother! Well guess what, I'm not giving in. I'd have to be crazy to go on your side."

"Which is exactly why the bond will be prevented. On the lunar eclipse, you and Altair would have twined your souls together to create one shared by both to ensure complete and total companionship and trust among the other. In return, Altair would receive part of your power. But that will not happen; I need that power, you _will_ bond with me, and you _will_ be mine!"

There was silence for a moment until Lacuna started chuckling. Somehow, she broke into a maniacal fit of uncontrolled laughter. "Y-y-you _honestly_- haha! I'm insane, I'm going insane," Lacuna said and was taken over by insane laughter again.

"Lacuna," Altair said, genuinely worried. When he saw that the Piece of Eden's light began to waver, he deduced that Al Mualim was trying to take control of her mind. It must have been failing.

The hysterical visage she had was wiped away and her brow furrowed. "You won't take my mind," she said. "Quit trying. Just come and fight us."

Al Mualim rose his arm again and a column of light began to swirl around his feet again. It started glowing brighter and brighter and when it finally dimmed out, Al Mualim wasn't quite what he last was. Instead, there stood a large, black wolf, thin as a twig, looking exactly identical to the one that they came across in Jerusalem.

"I had experimented with its power," Al Mualim said. "And the power of the wolf!"

"You…" Altair hissed. "You were that werewolf! Why did you attack us? Why did you leave Masyaf?"

"Seriously, Altair?" Lacuna said. "Here we are, standing at death's door, and you ask why he left _Masyaf_?"

"I did not attack you," Al Mualim said and opened his now long, narrow snout that was sticky with long strands of werewolf-saliva. "And I left Masyaf for only two hours."

"But it takes three days to get to Jerusalem," Altair argued.

"I ran. And werewolves can run fast, much faster than this one," he said and motioned with his yellow eyes over to Lacuna.

"Bastard," Lacuna hissed.

"And you're a bitch," Al Mualim said.

"Yeah, I am a bitch, thanks for noticing. And just so you know, I'm a pure-bred, you're just an old mutt!"

"Silence," Al Mualim said. "It is not you I am after." The ghostly-looking werewolf turned his head to look at Altair. "The assassin is the only one who needs to die."

He started to advance on Altair, whom was trying to writhe free of whatever was holding them in place.

Lacuna became furious and heard the Piece of Eden's power literally shatter like glass from holding her, and she lunged at Al Mualim.

Altair felt the force break free and he backed up from the dogfight.

"You'll never have him!" Lacuna said and was only inches away from tearing out the werewolves' throat, which was her intention. Instead she only got a mouthful of gigantic paw. She was thrown off of her opponent and barely recovered before he pounced on her back and dug his claws into her sides and back as he sunk his teeth into her neck.

"Loyal to the end," he said as Lacuna let out squeals of pain.

Lacuna rammed Al Mualim into a gazebo-like structure and he let go of her. He recovered quickly and made a dash for Altair, but Lacuna bit onto his tail and nearly ripped it off as she pulled him back to her. She latched onto him and yelled as they were wrangling each other, "Altair, the way how to kill a werewolf is by decapitating them! I'm pretty sure that silver works too, and the Templar Treasure is made out of silver! If one charges you, don't run; wait until the last second before jumping out of the way!"

Al Mualim flipped onto his back and slammed Lacuna into the ground. They viciously bit each other repeatedly, each of them tearing out chunks of the other.

Altair grabbed onto his sword and ran towards Al Mualim, whom was pummeling the werewolf underneath himself. He knew that Al Mualim had a blind eye, so without any hesitation, he stabbed the black werewolf and sent his blade sliding into the eye of the creature.

Al Mualim leapt back and put a paw up to his injured eye, letting out alien, animalistic sounds.

Lacuna got to her paws and lunged on the werewolf again. She felt claws rip in between her ribs and throw her off to the side where she slammed into a structure that collapsed on top of her.

Al Mualim, now blind, sniffed the air and had his ears twitching for the faintest sound. Altair noticed his disadvantage and slowly began to sneak away.

Al Mualim stilled with his head held high in the air. His ears were facing Altair's direction and his hiss-like breathing was soon directed towards the assassin. He charged and Altair leapt out of the way just as his sharp teeth came chomping down on a tree rather than his body.

The wolf noticed and let go, quickly finding where Altair still was. The assassin jumped out of the way a moment too late and Al Mualim caught the corner of his robes and jerked him backwards. He narrowly escaped the mouth of the wolf by using his hidden-blade bracer to break the bite, and in doing so, he felt the pressure applied to his arm force something to snap. He panicked and grabbed his knife to stab the wolf in the other blind eye, and over and over again, he continued to stab until Al Mualim let go.

Altair scrambled to his feet and dashed for the library as Al Mualim's paw caught onto his leg and dug into his calf.

Al Mualim flipped Altair over onto his back and held him down with his paw, baring his pointed teeth at Altair. "You really were my favorite student," Al Mualim said. "But sometimes people have to die in order for things to change." He opened his mouth and was about to snap him in half when Lacuna flew into him with the force of a train.

Al Mualim's claws dug into Lacuna's face and he quite literally ripped half of the flesh off. Regardless, Lacuna still managed to reach his throat and tore it out, each of them now mutilating the other.

They began circling each other, but the angry expression on Al Mualim's face changed to one of surprise. He started to make a choking noise before coughing up a gallon of blood and spilling out the Piece of Edenthat had been burning him from the inside.

Lacuna made a run for the artifact and missed as both of them started fighting for it. Lacuna kicked it with her back paw and sent it flying far across the gardens. "Get it, Alty!" She yelled and worked on holding Al Mualim back.

Altair sprinted for the Apple despite his broken arm and torn-up leg. The sprint was short-lived and turned into a hobble while Al Mualim began to break free from Lacuna. "Hurry!" She yelled, just as Al Mualim knocked her down to the ground and felt herself be gutted alive by his razor-sharp claws. She decided to do the same and sent her paw sailing straight through his chest cavity and ripped out his heart. The two backed off from each other, Al Mualim without his heart and Lacuna without her intestines.

Altair grabbed onto the Apple and limped towards the library again, looking back at Lacuna and Al Mualim. Al Mualim looked at him with a murderous glare, but with nothing to pump the blood around his body, he was much more slower at moving, for his blood became just a stagnate, heavy thing that stiffened his muscles.

Lacuna grabbed onto him and continued to batter him left and right.

Al Mualim laughed while being mauled to death and said, "You…stupid…_dog_! Werewolves can still control the Treasure."

Altair felt the Piece of Eden, gripped tightly in his hand, turn into a liquid-like substance and absorb into the ground. He quickly looked over at the two fighting wolves and Al Mualim sent Lacuna flying off of him. The Piece of Eden apparated from the ground and was now in Al Mualim reach, and he wasted no time in retrieving it.

Lacuna got a hold of his paw and ripped it off, grabbing the Apple for herself. She swallowed it and Al Mualim stilled, slowly taking steps away from her.

"You just…" he said, at a loss for words. "No! You can't have-"

Lacuna's eyes starting glowing a bright yellowish color and her ripped-apart face and gutted underside repaired itself. Al Mualim's werewolf form started to disintegrate until he was his human self kneeling down on his knees, staring up at the wolf.

Altair forgot his pain for a moment and ran after Al Mualim. With his good arm, he grabbed onto a throwing knife and stabbed his former master in the neck.

Altair closed the man's eyes as he settled him on the ground, then looked at the now-dead figure. "_La shaiq' waqee mutlak bl kollin mumkin_," Altair said and drew out the knife.

The pain started to pulse back into his arm and leg and looked over at Lacuna, wordless.

Lacuna lowered her head and bared her teeth at him. Her ears were flat on the back of her head and her back was ridged and hunched.

"Nemo?" Altair said and began to back away. "Don't tell me you're…." He didn't want to finish what he was thinking.

His first instinct was to run like he was running away from the jaws of Hell, and he did just that. He remembered playing in these gardens with Lacuna and how, even though she was outstandingly fast, couldn't catch him because he kept on taking sharp turns. He repeated what he had done those times and pivoted to the left. Lacuna went soaring by him and crashed into the a stone wall. The sheer force of it caused her to fall back on her haunches and she looked around in a dazed fashion, as if were seeing stars floating in the air.

After a moment she got back up and chased him again. Yet again, she went right past Altair because he avoided her at the last second.

Altair knew that he couldn't keep this up forever. He needed some way to stun her or knock her out so that he could retrieve the Piece of Eden most likely eroding away her stomach. With it out of her, maybe she'll go back to normal. But if she didn't, maybe he could use the Piece of Eden to force her back to normal. This moment of insanity and feralness had to be temporary.

Altair raced towards a scaffolding and heard Lacuna coming up behind him. He dove to the right and she flew into the wooden structure, breaking all of the supports and being buried for a second time. Altair grabbed hold of a wooden beam and waited for her to jump out of the rubble.

It took only a mere five seconds for her to collect herself and come running at him again. This time, Altair braced himself and just as she opened her mouth to bite him, Altair made sure that she got the beam instead of him.

The wood splintered and stabbed the wolf, and at this point, the Piece of Eden inside of her started to penetrate through her stomach and reach the muscles. She threw the beam out of her mouth and shook her head to remove what was imbedded into herself.

Lacuna started to feel the pain from the Piece of Eden and began to run around amok throughout the garden, completely not in control of herself. She went into a lower part of the garden and disappeared out of sight.

Altair limped behind a pillar and sunk down to the ground, cradling his badly injured arm. His leg was bleeding fiercely with fiery pain rocketing up it that caused him to cringe. He was going to wait for Lacuna to return.

He wasn't able to rest for long until the wolf returned, limping back towards Altair with her tail between her legs. Altair peered over the side of the pillar and saw her slowly making her way towards the center square of the garden, where she opened her mouth and let out a horrific, blood-curdling scream. She fell onto her side and stopped moving.

Altair figured that it was safe to go near her and he did so, getting down on her knees beside the wolf. She was taking in long, difficult breaths as the muscles beneath her chest were contracting and releasing themselves violently. She began choking and coughed up a river of blood with the Piece of Eden caught up in it.

"Nemo," Altair said and gripped the fur on the side of her face. "Are you…you?"

"Did I get him?" she said and stared off into space while her body convulsed slightly.

"Yes, you got him," Altair said and leaned on his good leg. He glanced up to see if anyone was coming to help them, but they were still the only two in the garden. "Listen, you and I need to get to a doctor or something, alright? We-"

"I can't move," she said. "I can hardly breathe." She took in another raspy, wheezing breath. In the state that she was in, it didn't look like she was going to last much longer.

"Hey!" Altair yelled to one in particular. "We need help! _Heeey_!"

"No one's coming," Lacuna said and choked on her blood again.

"No, it's alright, I'll go get help," Altair said and almost stood up to go leave until Lacuna made one last convulsion before she went completely limp. Altair shook her on the shoulder, but she didn't respond. Her eyes were still staring off into nowhere as if she was seeing something he wasn't. "Nemo, come on, we have to go get help."

Yet again, she didn't respond to him.

"Nemo?" he said, and shook her a little harder. "Nemo! Come on, answer me!" he grabbed hold of a patch of fur and shook her again, but she was completely limp and her eyes were unblinking.

Altair cupped his hands and covered his mouth. She was dead.

This couldn't be real, he thought to himself over and over again. She's not dead, she'll just wake up in a second and ask for a chicken because she believes that she's been a good wolf and deserves it.

"Nemo, wake up! Wake up, you bitch, you don't just leave me like this!"

She didn't respond to him again and he found himself bringing his hand up to her yellow eyes to close them.

At first he felt as if everything inside of himself just dropped to his feet, but the feeling soon turned to coldness. He stared at Nemo, his beloved wolf, and wished that her eyes would shoot open any moment, even though he knew they wouldn't. He put his hand on the deep fur of her face and said, "You were such a good wolf, Nemo. You don't deserve this." A couple seconds passed before he choked out, "I'm going to miss you." He sunk down to her and wrapped an arm around her corpse. He started weeping into her soft, fluffy fur and sobbed, "I love you, you wolf. You were the best friend I ever had, and you were the _only_ one I ever had…" he took in a shaking breath and stroked her fur, twirling it around his fingers as he sometimes would when she would be laying down next to him. "I love you, I love you. Please come back, I love you, I don't want you to go…."

His head turned towards the Piece of Eden and he glanced back at the corpse he was clinging onto. An idea came to his mind and he reached over to grab it. Al Mualim explained what the entire 'bonding' thing was, and maybe he could still have it happen with Nemo. He pressed it against her chest and said, "Please, I need this to work. I just need Nemo to wake up."

The Piece of Eden began to glow and repelled itself away from Nemo and lifted off from Altair's hand. It started to glow brighter and brighter until it was difficult to look at and he had to turn away.

The moment he turned away, he felt as if something had reached into his chest and gripped onto his lungs. The air was knocked out of them as he was lifted onto his feet and he tried reaching for whatever was grabbing onto him, but only got air instead of something solid.

Lacuna gasped awake and found that she was floating in a sea of light with no ground to be seen. Her chest had a tremendous weight on it that felt like it was trying to crush her, preventing her from letting out any whimpers or screams. Her heart began to race as she fought for a breath of air.

She managed to get the breath right as agony shot itself throughout her body and screamed in surprise. She felt as if she was on fire, every part of her burning and stinging as she thrashed around in the nothingness keeping her aloft.

It ended abruptly and she fell onto the ground, roughly hitting the ground just as Altair fell a couple feet away. He was on his knees for a moment before falling onto his side and loosing consciousness.

Lacuna felt light-headed and her eyes rolled to the top of her head before passing out as well.

* * *

**I still have two more chapters to do!**

**Okay, so that was the first or second time I've ever written a boss battle like that, so please forgive me for any corniness I put in it! I try to leave out cliches and mistakes the best I can.**

**But alas, sometimes I noticed my mistakes AFTER I upload… :(**


	26. Awakened

**This is the second to last chapter. It's hard to believe it's almost been a year already D:**

**P.S. I know I spell Mariyah's name differently but I don't wanna change it!**

* * *

_Altair opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on his side on the ground against a wall. He felt a pain in his arm as he sat upright and felt the rubble he had been laying on. A brief look around the room told him that he wasn't in Masyaf. In fact, it appeared that he was in an entirely different place._

_He staggered onto his feet and cradled his aching arm, thinking to himself, _"Wasn't I in the gardens?"

_He saw that he was inside of a dark, abandoned building that was literally falling apart. The paint on the walls had been peeled off and the wooden floor was rotted, the rusted nails holding them in place hazardously sticking up out of the ground. The entire building made a moaning, creaking noise that gave an eerie feeling to the assassin as he took a few steps forward._

_Parts of the ceiling had recently caved in and left huge piles of rubble laying out on the floor that felt as if it might give way to any extra weight at any moment. Cockroaches and rats were scuttling around into holes in the walls. The candles that provided what little light they could were flickering violently despite the fact that there was no wind in this dilapidated, decrepit building._

_Altair could see the silhouette of a small human at the end of the hallway. He began to walk towards it and said, "Excuse me? Can you tell me where I am?"_

_He couldn't make out its features, but he could tell that it was a girl. She turned around and began to run away from him. "Hey, please wait a second!" He ran after her, being wary of the sharp nails sticking out of the ground. She abruptly turned a corner and he lost sight of her. Once he turned as well, a door slammed shut, telling him where she had gone._

_He hesitated before opening up the rotted door and cringed as it made a horrible screeching noise._

_Inside, the girl was sitting at the center of the room with her back turned to Altair, making soft weeping noise._

_Altair slowly approached her and said, "Are you alright?" She gave him no response, so he continued to say, "I will not hurt you; I just wish to ask you something."_

"_What do you want?" she replied. "Money?"_

"_No, I just want you to tell me where I am."_

_The girl stood up and turned around to face him, and she smirked at the quizzical expression on his face._

"_Lacuna?" Altair said. "What are you doing here? Where are we?"_

"_Sometimes worse goes to worse and weird turns to weirder."_

_The door behind Altair slammed shut and he jumped from being surprised. He tried to turn the knob but it was somehow locked shut and he was trapped in the room with Lacuna._

"_You never considered you're dead?" Lacuna said._

"_Dead? Lacuna, I'm alive. We're alive. Come, we should get back to Masyaf."_

"_Why? Nothing's there anymore. Unless if you want to lament over the years gone by."_

_Altair gave her a funny look. "Speak sense, Lacuna."_

"_I am. It's you who must figure it out."_

_Her image of a human flickered and changed to a growling, snarling wolf. She took three steps towards him before lunging, and then-_

Altair gasped in a breath and he shot upright. He looked around the room and saw that he was in the infirmary and his arm was in a sling. The pain of the broken limb finally caught up to him and he briefly wished that he was still asleep.

"Brother, are you alright?"

Altair looked at the direction of the voice and calmed when he saw that it was Malik. The man sat down next to him on the bed and the assassin immediately said, "Where is Nemo? Is she alright? Is she-"

Malik held up a hand to cease his talking and said, "She is alright, still sound asleep."

Altair let out a sigh of relief and fell back down on the pillow. "Al Mualim is dead," he said. "He betrayed us. _Us_. Who will lead the Order now?"

"That was what I wanted to talk to you about," Malik said. "Al Mualim has no successors, but maybe we can take charge until we find something else."

"We? As in you and me?"

"It feels unjust of me to ask you such a thing in the condition that you are in, but I cannot think of anyone else who could do the task. You and I trained together, Altair. I know that you have leadership skills, and combined with my skills from being a bureau leader, along with Nemo, maybe we can make things work. I've been thinking about how we could change so many things for the better here."

Altair thought for a moment. It's not like he had much of a choice, anyway. His mind suddenly shifted to the Piece of Eden that he last had. Where'd it go? Did Nemo- Lacuna -have it?

"I must think, Malik. My mind isn't all that clear right now."

"Of course, brother." Malik was silent for a moment before he said, "Altair, before I go, can you tell me exactly what happened out there? While you were asleep, you kept on asking where you were. You spoke of someone named Lacuna."

Altair wanted to get out of the conversation quickly so he said, "I will explain to you later, Malik. I promise."

* * *

Lacuna didn't want to open her eyes. Everything was nice and fuzzy and warm, like in a very comfortable bed. There was a soft light dancing over her closed eyelids and she thought to herself how wonderful it would be if she could stay like this for another hour or two.

Unfortunately, she had a mini-dream that she tripped and fell and jolted awake. She looked around with her eyes and calmed once she noticed the nurses walking around. "I must in the infirmary," she said.

One of the nurses turned around and she recognized her to be Rahmah, whom she hasn't seen in several months. "I see that you are finally awake. I knew that it would take days for you wake up; something very powerful happened back there in the gardens."

Lacuna panicked. "What? _Days_? How long have I been out! Is Altair okay?"

Rahmah laughed. "It's only been a few hours, Nemo. Relax."

Lacuna gave her a blank stare for a moment before sighing relief. It was then that she realized she was still a wolf. They must have hoisted her into the bed. "Thank god."

"And yes, Altair is alright. He has a broken arm and a few very bad flesh wounds, but he is completely fine and will heal." Rahmah rung out a rag and set it aside. She turned to the wolf and crossed her arms. "I have not seen you in a while, my friend."

"Eh…that's because I'm almost always gone," Lacuna said. "But I should be around much more often now."

"Yes, ever since our master was killed."

"We didn't have a choice," Lacuna said and rolled onto her underside. She stepped down from the bed and felt a little shaky on her legs.

"Are you even alright to stand?" Rahmah asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm going to get see Altair."

"Just don't strain yourself," Rahmah said.

* * *

Altair covered his eyes with his hand and felt the whole weight of the world fall onto his chest. How could he run the Brotherhood? He didn't even know if Lacuna was good at leading. Well…she was a wolf and had a few traits of a leader, but could she really?

The thought left him when Lacuna came bounding over. Her tail was wagging as fast as a propeller and was high in the air as she licked Altair relentlessly.

Altair was forced to smile and sat upright at the delightful visit from the wolf. She started to blurt out all sorts of words and sentences, all of them incoherent in her excitement to see him. Altair wrapped an arm around her neck in an awkward hug and stroked her deep, soft fur. "It's good to see you and your spit too," Altair said.

"I was getting a little worried," Lacuna said.

"Are you alright?" Altair asked.

"Pft, I'm fine. I should be asking _you_ if you're alright."

"There is nothing serious. I'll heal," replied Altair as he leaned his back against the post of the bed. His leg suddenly had a burning explosion of pain and he instinctively gripped it. Maybe he shouldn't move his leg at all. "Do you know what happened to the Piece of Eden?"

"No. The last I remembered it was…umm…I actually can't remember it."

Altair gave her a quizzical look. "You don't? What do you remember?"

"I remember pouncing on Al Mualim, then I think I passed out or something. When I woke up, I was…well…here, of course. You must have killed Al Mualim, huh?"

Altair slowly nodded his head. She really didn't remember going berserk?

"Hey, we can think about this later," Lacuna said. "But I was just thinking recently that I would like to change my name. I don't like Nemo, and I hate Lacuna."

Altair smiled at her. "If you wish to change it Lacuna, then you can. You choose whatever it is that you want."

Lacuna wagged her tail and said, "I like the name Chase. Wait…but I also like Kavik…hmm…Chase or Kavik? Ah whatever, I'll figure it out later."

"It's whatever you want," Altair said and sighed as the pain in his leg started to die down a bit.

Lacuna laid her head down next to Altair's and took in a deep breath.

"Al Mualim said our souls would entwine into one," Altair said. He noticed how Lacuna's ears perked up. "He also mentioned that I would receive some of your abilities."

"Well...? What do you think you have?"

"I don't know, but I would like to find out," he replied. "But if we both have one soul, what would happen when we die? One of us wouldn't have one."

"No, I think he was saying that our souls are attached, not mixed. I have a feeling that if they mixed, one of us would be a mindless zombie. Anyway, once you're able to stand and walk, maybe we should see what you can do now. I'd be pretty interested in it."

"Heh, maybe I can be a wolf."

"I doubt it. You don't smell like one."

Altair gave her a small smile and stroked her head again a few times.

* * *

**Yeah, I know nothing happened in this chapter. I actually feel like it was just a waste of words :O The next one will be better and have more in it, I promise :D**

**Anyway, about the 'Kavik' thing. Kavik is a region in northern Alaska (the population as of today is just one person :O) and it's full of wide open spaces, much like the rest of Alaska. If you remember, Lacuna wanted to live in Alaska to be with other wolves and hunt caribou and be free and do things that wolves like to do :3**


	27. Epilogue

**Aww, this is my last chapter D: I want to thank all of your for all of the kind reviews, ideas, and advice that you've given :D And I also want to thank those who have been reading this story, of course :) Especially since some of you like it enough to have been reading it for the past twelve months.**

**IT MAKES ME FEEL LOVED! :D**

* * *

About three months had passed since the incident in the gardens. For those three months Altair, Malik, and Lacuna have ran the Order. It turns out that Altair's prediction was right; Nemo, surprisingly, was good at…well…leading and managing. She was smart and she was a wolf, and she knew mathematics, so those factors seemed to fit her well for the tasks put on her.

In those three months, Lacuna had also finally chosen a name. The thought of being named Kavik was appealing to her and added on Siberius as a last name. No more Gaps, no more No Names, just Kavik Siberius, and she didn't seem to care how masculine it sounded. It was her choice, and she liked it, so she stuck with it.

There were also a few other things that had occurred. For once, Kavik had a growth spurt. She was no longer a small, skinny girl, but instead was as tall as Altair and had a ravenous hunger. The cooks even wanted to limit what she ate, but Altair managed to persuade them not to do that by telling them it'd be a bad idea to have a hungry werewolf in a room full of tasty humans.

To Altair, it was actually funny. Her stomach was literally like a bottomless pit and no matter how much she ate, she was always hungry for more. In fact, it was rare to see her without an item of food.

Yet she remained thin as parchment. Altair just figured that it was werewolf thing.

* * *

Altair looked down at his book and scribbled in a note to himself about getting a few people to build a new pigeon coop and purchase a few horses. He closed the book and sighed, looking around the previous master's library. They didn't move anything, so the room was same and still had the beautiful view of the gardens below. Oh, how he loved those gardens.

"You're still working on that?" Kavik said and walked over to his desk with a piece of bread in her hand.

"You're still eating?"

"Of course. They make good bread. Besides, I'm starving."

"You're always starving."

"Yeah, I know. It's kind of annoying. I feel like a could eat a horse."

"Hmm. Did you happen to make a meal of the horse that went missing?"

"No. Yes. Possibly. Maybe."

Altair rose an eyebrow at her and she laughed.

"C'mon, you know I wouldn't _really _eat a horse."

"No, instead you've depleted our supply of food."

"It's not my fault!" she said with a hint of a jest. "I'm still like…ninety pounds or so."

"You're not quite that thin," Altair said and stacked the books on the table into organized groups. "If you were, then I'd be worried."

"If I were, I think I'd be sick." She said and ripped off another piece of her bread.

"Speaking of illness, are we?" Malik said and joined them.

"Yeah, it's called snuffaluffigiticus. Terrible disease." Kavik jested.

"I'll pay you ten chickens if you tell me that disease is real."

"Alright, it's real, completely real."

Malik chuckled and said to Altair, "There was a problem with those plant seeds we sent order for. Apparently the wagon was attacked by bandits and was looted, so the medicines will have to wait for later."

"Damn," Altair whispered under his breath. They needed those plant seeds for the infirmary.

"There is good news, though. Ten of the novices are ready to be crowned assassins. When do you think the occasion should take place?"

"I…don't know. I've never done something like that before."

"Look through Al Mualim's journal or something," Kavik said. "He must have written down something like that at least once."

Altair nodded and sighed. He was still trying to get used to this.

Malik left and Kavik and Altair were alone. Several moments of silence passed before Kavik said, "You know, I think you're a good leader. I mean, you've shone it pretty well in the past three months. But don't put all of the responsibilities on yourself, you know. Take some weight off your shoulders and let me deal with figuring out the whole novice-to-assassin thing."

Altair looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Granted you can find his journal. And as long as it's in English."

Altair smiled and reached for a book, then tossed it to her. "Here. Knock yourself out."

Kavik caught it and said, "I'll be in the gardens then." As she walked away, a song popped into her head and she started to mumble the lyrics to herself.

* * *

Altair laid down in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Finally things could settle down. Maybe he could even be a normal man for once. That is, if this is considered normal. It's not like it's everyday do you become the leader of an order and have your soul attached to someone else's.

Which reminded him; in the past few months, nothing unusual had happened to him other than the fact that his wounds had healed extraordinarily fast. He still wondered what he could have possibly gained; it seemed like it would have been something much more spectacular than healing twice as fast.

Either way, the only task that they had to focus on now was getting Masyaf back in order. But as he thought of it all, and everything that has happened in the past four or five months or so, he just couldn't help but think how it all came together. It couldn't have all been coincidental - right? - but if it was, well then…he was just one really lucky person. Meeting Kavik was probably the best thing that has happened to him so far in the past twenty-one years of his life.

Oh, how she has changed him. Altair prayed to Allah that she and he would be together for as long as possible. And by the looks of it, it appeared that he and his wolf wouldn't be separated by anything anytime soon.

Now, Altair just has to study the Piece of Eden…

* * *

**ZOMG FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE EPIC CHEESY AND CORNINESS OF MY ENEDING!**

**Geez, 360 days later I finish this story and that's the honest ending I give. Lulz. Usually I try to steer away from cliché endings, but I just couldn't help myself XD I wanted to finish this thing to focus on another story of mine :3**

**But it was fun to write!**

**Anyway, I want to again thank all of you for all of the nice comments and reviews and ideas, support, compliments, etc. because it really does mean a lot to me :D I hope that you enjoyed it :)**

**P.S. I left it open for a sequel because I don't know if I'll write one or not D:**

**Again, THANK YOU ALL I LUV ALL YOU GUYS! :D And may your future stories (whether you write them or read them) be awesometastic, 'cause we all love a good story :)**


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